


Harry Potter and the Malfoy Male Pregnancy Curse

by Zakaira



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Mpreg, perseverance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-07-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 06:51:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 27
Words: 115,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1116797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zakaira/pseuds/Zakaira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter has power the Dark Lord knows not and Potter’s child would have that power too. Voldemort has a plan to discover this power. Using a dark spell and a male pregnancy ritual, he impregnates Draco Malfoy with Potter’s child, planning to take and study it. He’ll either extract the power and take it for himself, or groom the child to rule beside him, welding the power for him. Harry kills Voldemort and Malfoy is left not knowing who the dad is. Worse, the ritual has gone haywire and gets Malfoy pregnant again. The Ministry confiscates all of the Malfoy family’s wealth, leaving Draco and Narcissa dirt broke with children of unknown paternity to raise. Then one day Harry receives a letter from Draco’s oldest son claiming to know that Harry is his dad. Harry goes to investigate and discovers that the situation at Malfoy Manor is far worse than the Malfoy family lets on—Draco and Narcissa are making the best of it, but they’re exceedingly poor. A paternity potion reveals that Harry is the father and he sets out to make things right and help Draco raise their children. Mild slash.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

            Harry was having a very good day. He and his senior partner Bourke Covington had just captured known Death Eater Mather Fawley, who they were currently depositing into a cell.

            Harry and Ron had made a pact that as soon as they were allowed, they would partner together. Only new Aurors were partnered with senior Aurors for the first two years, so Harry was with Bourke. Bourke, having four muggle-born grandparents and being an Auror for five years now, was very keen to round up every last Death Eater. Harry had a similar mentality when it came to justice, so they got on well.

            Harry liked Bourke, even if Bourke wasn’t Ron. Harry tended to think that Bourke’s parents had overcompensated for their lack of blood purity by giving their son the most stupid sounding name they could come up with. Since it was the purebloods who typically sported the ridiculous names, having a name like that probably threw enough people off his scent before he had to explain what his blood stasis was; Harry still didn’t know what Bourke’s blood stasis was. Yes, Harry knew that both of Bourke’s parents were classified as mudbloods, having each been born to a pair of muggleborns, but what was Bourke? Bourke wasn’t muggleborn, and his parents weren’t muggleborn, so wouldn’t that make him halfblood? Did four mudbloods make a half? Harry didn’t know, but it didn’t matter much now that Mather Fawley and the rest of the Death Eaters were locked up or dead and their blood status nonsense with them.

            Bourke was taunting Fawley now, saying things like, “Your precious spotless blood won’t do you much good while you’re rotting in Azkaban, Fawley.” Bourke tended to get a bit wound up during the hunt and capture and generally liked to banter with the bad guy once they were caught. Bourke wasn’t too bad about it though, unlike some of the other Aurors.

            Fawley was saying something back, about blood purity always counting for something and then Harry heard a noise. It started off softly at first, although completely out of place and echoing off of the walls. Harry didn’t know what the strange sound was, until it picked up and morphed into a shrill wail.

            “What the—” Harry said, abandoning Bourke and Fawley to investigate the source of the sound. Fawley was already locked up tight, disarmed, and restrained, so Harry didn’t think twice about leaving Bourke alone with the Death Eater. Besides, Auror Patterson was on duty just at the end of the hall. If Fawley did try anything, Patterson would step in and put a stop to it.

            Harry walked passed Patterson and down a side corridor a few feet before he found the source of the cries. There was a little black haired baby lying in a bundle of blankets on the floor. “Patterson, why is there a baby in here? Certainly no one thinks a baby could be a Death Eater,” Harry called out, still looking at the baby. Its eyes were scrunched up tight and its fists flailed as the little mouth let out the loud caterwauling.

            “The baby no, but the parents, yes. That’s the Malfoy baby,” Patterson answered, walking towards Harry. Patterson’s shoes made hard clacking sounds as he stepped. “Malfoy’s normally pretty good about taking care of it and keeping it quiet.”

            Now that Patterson mentioned Malfoy, Harry noticed a blond lump lying passed out on the stone floor. The body was lying in the shadow along the edge of the cell, explaining why he hadn’t noticed Malfoy immediately; his eyes needed a moment to adjust to the lighting.

            The cell was bare, with only a small, low cot, a toilet, and a sink. There appeared to be a spare nappy or two on the cot, but other than that, it was bare. There were no pillows and the only blanket in the place was the one the baby was lying on. The baby looked surprisingly clean, given the filthy look the cell and Malfoy had to them. Malfoy looked so grungy Harry didn’t think all the hot baths in the world could get rid of the dirt.

            Patterson was level with Harry now, seeing what Harry saw in the cell.

            “Open this cell for me, will you? Malfoy’s passed out,” Harry said.

            “He’s probably faking again. He’s been making himself throw-up and saying he feels sick for weeks now. Only thing is, every time we call the nurse in to look at him, she says he’s healthy. Dehydrated from all of the vomiting, yeah, but if he’d stop making himself puke to get attention, he’d be fine.”

            “Well even if he’s faking, you’re not going to let the baby cry, are you?”

            “No. Alright, I’ll let you in, but I have to lock the door behind you, in case it’s a trap. He could turn on you and if he does, you know it’s Ministry policy not to bargain with him. I’ll let him have you.”

            “He saved my life once during the war and I his a few times; I don’t think he’ll repay my looking after his baby by attacking me.”

            Patterson just shrugged and made a noncommittal noise, before opening up the cell and letting Harry in. The bars slid closed behind Harry with a bang. He immediately went to the baby and picked him up. Harry had Teddy on weekends during his off time, so he had a bit of experience with babies. This baby was much lighter and skinnier than Teddy, but about the same length. He wondered how old the baby was. He had seen Malfoy looking fat at Malfoy Manor last Easter and he’d heard the rumors about Malfoy being pregnant when they captured him at the end of the war six months ago. This baby had been born inside this holding cell while Malfoy awaited trial, but Harry didn’t know exactly when. The first month after the war had been completely hectic and Harry hadn’t exactly been following Malfoy, because he’d been too busy catching real Death Eaters.

            “Patterson, why does Malfoy have his baby in here with him? Didn’t they let his mum go? Shouldn’t the baby be with Narcissa Malfoy?” Harry asked over the cries.

            “Malfoy’s nursing him, so they let him keep the brat with him for now. Too generous with them, we are. If the tables were turned, they’d kill the baby of a muggleborn, but what do we do when we capture a pregnant Death Eater? We keep the happy little family together,” Patterson answered sarcastically.

            The baby was starting to cry harder now. “I think he’s hungry; do you have a bottle?” Harry asked.

            “No, just turn Malfoy over and hand him the baby. He breast feeds it.”

            “But he’s passed out.”

            “Faking, my guess,” Patterson said with a shrugged.

            Harry sighed, put the screaming baby back down on the blanket, and went to Malfoy. Malfoy had a puddle of vomit by his mouth. There was more vomit in a trail leading down from the toilet, which contained far more of Malfoy’s stomach contents than the floor. The puke was watery and yellow and didn’t look at all like food, making Harry wonder what Malfoy had been given to eat. But he didn’t have time to question Malfoy’s diet now, because the baby was still crying. Thus Harry pushed on Malfoy’s side and pulled out the arm that was trapped underneath, causing him to roll over onto his back.

            Malfoy was shirtless, wearing only a pair of black and white striped bottoms. Harry was taken aback when he saw Draco’s swollen chest. The small curves were more the type of thing he expected to see on a witch, not Malfoy. He had never seen a breast feeding wizard before, so he didn’t know if Malfoy’s chest was normal or not. Merlin, he didn’t think it was normal for a wizard to be getting pregnant, giving birth, or nursing at all. He had first come across the phenomena during his Auror training, because the Ministry could get sued if an Auror roughed up a pregnant person, hence the section in his training guide on the subject. So Harry knew it was possible, but that didn’t make it normal.

            “Now what do I do?” Harry asked, looking back and forth between the passed out Malfoy and the screaming baby.

            “Great bugger, just shut the kid up already Harry,” Bourke said. His taunting of Fawley was much less fun when he couldn’t hear his own jibes over the din created by that baby.

            “This hasn’t happened to me when I’ve been on duty before, but I was briefed about it. Official procedure is to help the kid latch onto Malfoy’s nipple and let nature do the rest,” Patterson said.

            “How do I do that?” Harry asked desperately. He’d never even seen someone breast feeding before; he had no idea how it worked.

            “My wife breast fed our son. Let me in Patterson and I’ll do it,” Bourke offered.

            Patterson let Bourke in and Bourke quickly positioned the baby at Malfoy’s nipple. The baby latched on, silencing his cries immediately. The baby was little, so Bourke stayed there holding him, to make sure he didn’t fall onto the hard stone floor and get hurt. While Bourke was tending to the baby, Harry moved up to Malfoy’s head, raising an eyelid and peering into one light grey eye. Malfoy didn’t so much as flinch, staying completely unresponsive.

            Harry needed to figure out a way to help Malfoy. He looked around the stall and noticed an empty cup a few feet away from Malfoy on the floor. The sight reminded him that Patterson said something earlier about Malfoy being dehydrated. Harry filled the cup with water from the sink and took the cup back to Malfoy, holding it up to Malfoy’s lips. When Malfoy didn’t move to sip the water, Harry pried Malfoy’s mouth open and slowly tipped the water down Malfoy’s throat.

            Three cups of water and one fed baby later, Bourke exited the cell, citing the need to fill out paperwork on Fawley’s arrest. Harry stayed and continued his efforts to revive Malfoy. It was another ten minutes and another cup of water later when Malfoy coughed and spluttered on the water. Malfoy’s body rose up quickly, turning over so that gravity would help his body clear his airways. Malfoy’s coughing turned into vomiting, which had him once again lunging for the toilet. When Malfoy was done, he lowered himself back onto the floor and breathed heavily.

            “Patterson, can you clean Malfoy for me? He’s filthy,” Harry said. He wasn’t allowed his wand in the holding cells, for security measures. Only the guards and senior Aurors had wands in here.

            Patterson grunted as if cleaning Malfoy wasn’t worth his time, but he flicked his wand and cast the charm anyway. The vomit on and around Malfoy disappeared as well as the worst of the grime, although his skin still appeared to be stained with dirt.

            “Thanks,” Harry said to Patterson, before turning back to Malfoy. Malfoy’s eyes were squeezed shut, but in an obviously awake manner. “Alright Malfoy?”

            “Hungry,” Malfoy replied weakly.

            “Patterson, will you get him some bread?” Harry requested.

            “Just because he’s a bloody Malfoy he expects to get special treatment. If he didn’t force himself to sick up all his food, he wouldn’t be so hungry. He expects us guards to make extra trips just to bring him a snack.”

            Harry looked down at Malfoy’s emaciated looking body. Without a shirt on, Harry could see every detail of Malfoy’s jutting ribcage. Malfoy’s abdomen looked shrunken in and the sight reminded Harry of how his own body looked after staying all summer with the Dursley’s and not being properly fed.

            “Just get him some bread or I’ll report to Shacklebolt that you’re starving him. He has a baby to feed too, can’t you see that?” Harry asked angrily.

            Patterson grumbled under his breath, but complied. It turned out that he didn’t have to go all of the way down to the kitchens for the bread, because he had an entire loaf of French bread hidden in a cubby hole down the hall. Harry wondered why Patterson had put up such a fuss, when it obviously wasn’t a big deal to get the bread for Malfoy. In fact, Patterson could just bring up extra bread for Malfoy with each meal and then never have to be bothered with this sort of thing.

            Patterson handed a large chunk of the bread over to Harry, who gave it to Malfoy. While Malfoy ate greedily, Harry told Patterson to bring Malfoy more food every day, because of the baby.

            “Look, I’m not starving him. I brought the extra loaf from the kitchen when I brought their lunch, didn’t I? I was just waiting until three to give it to him, so it doesn’t come back up and I don’t have to go down to the kitchens for another,” Patterson explained.

            “Right, so you’re not the bastard starving him. Just give me another hunk for him,” Harry ordered.

            Patterson did as told and said, “You shouldn’t give him too much at once like this, or it’ll be wasted when he pukes again.”

            Harry shrugged and just requested under piece from Patterson, repeating the process until the loaf was gone. Malfoy drank more water, before looking up at Harry with fear in his eyes.

            “I’m sorry. I’ll be good, I promise, just don’t crucio me again,” Malfoy said with a broken high pitched voice.

            “I’m not going to crucio you Malfoy. Your baby was crying and I was just trying to help you,” Harry replied, holding his hands up, to show he didn’t have a wand.

            “I’m sorry; I didn’t know. I won’t let him cry again, just please don’t hurt Scorpius. I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt him.” As Malfoy spoke, he lowered himself onto his hands and knees in front of Harry.

            “I’m not going to hurt him.”

            Malfoy’s hands were on Harry’s thighs now, above Harry’s robes, slowly roaming up. Harry jumped back when Malfoy’s hands grew too near his crotch. “Whoa, back up there Malfoy,” Harry said.

            “I’m sorry. I’ll do it, please don’t crucio me. I can’t keep Scorpius quiet like you want if you crucio me.”

            “Malfoy, who’s been torturing you?” Harry asked concerned. At first he had assumed it was Voldemort last year, but that couldn’t be if the baby was already here when Malfoy was being tortured.

            Malfoy blinked, shook his filthy blond hair, and stared at Harry, before blinking again. “I don’t understand.” The tone of his voice sounded confused.

            Maybe using Malfoy’s first name would help. “Draco, have the guards here been torturing you with the Cruciatus curse?” Harry asked.

            Malfoy still looked confused, but this time his gaze kept darting to the hallway behind his bars. Harry followed Malfoy’s gaze straight to Patterson, before Malfoy’s gaze flickered to the floor.

            “Vance was punished for torturing prisoners last week. Can’t say that I blame him after what the Death Eaters did to his family. Malfoy’s probably just mistaken you for Vance,” Patterson explained with another shrug.

            Harry had been looking at Patterson as the other Auror spoke, but when he turned back to Malfoy, he saw that Malfoy was removing his striped prison trousers. “Oi, stop Malfoy! What are you doing?” Harry asked, reaching out and grabbing Malfoy’s arms, to physically stop Malfoy from stripping.

            “I’m sorry. I thought this was what you wanted. I’m sorry,” Malfoy said.

            “What did you think I wanted?” Harry asked confused. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like this.

            “I’m sorry; I don’t know what you want me to say. I’ll say or do whatever you want, if you just tell me. Please don’t hurt me and the baby again.”

            “Draco, who’s been hurting the baby?” Harry was furious now.

            “He doesn’t like the baby. Isobel likes Scorpius, but he doesn’t. Isobel comes in in the mornings after him and helps me clean Scorpius up. She gives me the clean nappies too. I like Isobel,” Malfoy said.

            Isobel MacDougal was one of the new Auror recruits. She had been in their year in Hogwarts and had fought on their side during the final battle. They were training her to guard the Holding Cells. Harry had been here to drop off a prisoner a time or two when Isobel and her senior partner were on duty. Isobel always had the morning shift.

            “So it’s the night guard, is it?” Harry asked.

            Malfoy deliberately looked to his side, away from Harry, but didn’t answer.

            “Vance was on the night shift,” Patterson offered helpfully. “They’ve been rotating guards through here trying to pick his replacement. I bet that whatever happened, it was Vance.”

            “Draco, listen to me,” Harry said, shaking Malfoy slightly. Malfoy looked up at Harry and they made eye contact. “You need to tell me who he is so I can make sure he never comes back to hurt you and the baby again. Can you do that Draco? Can you tell me who to keep away? Was it Vance?”

            Malfoy seemed to consider it for some time, before he leaned in and whispered into Harry’s ear. “Are you like Isobel then?”

            Harry wanted Malfoy to trust him, so he answered, “Yes, I want to help you like Isobel; you have to tell me who’s hurting you. Is it Vance?”

            “And Aescwine,” Malfoy whispered. “Aescwine’s worse.”

            Harry knew that Aescwine was the other Auror who regularly worked the night shift. He liked Aescwine even less than Vance. Aescwine was a muggleborn whose entire muggle family had found themselves at the wrong end of a Death Eater’s wand during the war. But Aescwine wasn’t like Bourke, who just wanted justice; Aescwine preferred retribution of the eye for an eye type.

            “What does he do to you?” Harry asked.

            “If I’m good he doesn’t hurt me too bad; he uses lube,” Malfoy whispered.

            Malfoy said it so quietly Harry didn’t know if he heard Malfoy right, but Harry gasped in shock just the same. Harry was stunned silent for a minute, before he thought of another question to ask. “Is that why you’re sick? Did he hurt you last night?”

            “No, not last night, no.”

            “You really are sick, aren’t you Draco? If I take you to be seen by the nurse, and you’re not sick this time, they won’t let me help you again.”

            “No, I’m not sick.”

            “So Patterson was right? You’re making yourself throw up?”

            “No, not that.”

            “Then what? Merlin, you were passed out in your own vomit when I found you and you puked again after you woke up. Why?”

            Malfoy looked down, as if he were embarrassed. “Pregnant again.”

            “You’re pregnant again? How can you be pregnant? You’ve been locked up in here since you had your baby, haven’t you?”

            “He’s said that before, that he’s pregnant. I took him down to the clinic and had him looked at; Medi-witch Jones and I both did the pregnancy spell and both were negative. I remember it, because it was Samhain and instead of going to the annual feast at my grandmother’s house, I was stuck here with Malfoy insisting that he’s pregnant, even though that’s impossible. I think he’s gone a bit loopy and forgets that he already had the baby and it’s right in there with him,” Patterson said.

            “Aescwine,” Malfoy said. He had gone over to the blanket and was checking on the baby now. He seemed to be satisfied that the little guy was fine and that like Isobel, Harry hadn’t hurt his baby.

            “Humor me Patterson and cast the pregnancy detection spell,” Harry requested.

            “There’s no way he can be pregnant again. He hasn’t left that cell except to be seen in the clinic since he got here,” Patterson said.

            “Surely he must’ve at least been taken to St. Mungo’s when he had the baby,” Harry said. “Maybe they took him out some other time and didn’t tell you.”

            “He had the baby over in the clinic. Medi-witch Jones delivered it right here.”

            “Just cast the spell Patterson. If he’s not pregnant, what harm could it do?” Harry asked.

            “It’ll encourage him to keep seeking out special treatment. He needs to learn,” Patterson replied, before casting the spell.

            The spell gave a positive result, indicating that Malfoy really was pregnant again and Patterson had to eat his words. The first pregnancy spell had come back negative not because Malfoy wasn’t pregnant, but because it was too early in the pregnancy to detect it.

* * *

 

Author’s Note: I’ve said this before, but this story I intend to be short. I have the timeline for it worked out, and right now it’s about 15 chapters. I plan on updating approximately once a week. And for those of you reading my other story, Blood of the Enemy; although the initial concept of Voldemort impregnating Draco is the same, everything else, down to the mechanism of male pregnancy and why the baby is Harry's, is different. One of the major differences is that the first baby is already here, so this story will be more family oriented, focusing on the children. Also, this story isn’t a romance, but more about friendship, healing, and perseverance. Harry initially is in a relationship with Ginny, while Draco is too scarred mentally from abuse he’s suffered at the hands of his night guards to be interested in having a relationship with anyone of either sex. There will be a slow build to a Harry and Draco romance, but because of how emotionally damaged Draco is, do not expect more than hand holding and maybe a kiss on the cheek.

 

Please review and let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter2

            Once medi-witch Jones knew what to look for, she confirmed that Draco Malfoy’s symptoms really were due to his undiagnosed second pregnancy. She put Malfoy on an anti-nausea potion and increased his food intake allowance accordingly, but Harry didn’t think she was doing enough. She couldn’t know much about medicine if she had missed Malfoy’s pregnancy, even though she knew he claimed to be pregnant before. Harry would have felt better if he could just take Malfoy and baby Scorpius to St. Mungo’s to be checked out, but he couldn’t with Malfoy’s status.

            Malfoy was being held in Ministry custody pending his trail as a Death Eater. He was pretty much a sitting duck in his cell, just waiting for Aescwine or Vance to come back and abuse him again. Of course Harry went straight to his boss Robards and reported the abuse. Vance had already been taken off of guard duty and now Aescwine was too. Harry convinced his partner Bourke to temporally fill in the position of night guard once a week while they found more permanent replacements. It gave Harry a chance to check on Malfoy and little Scorpius, but it also gave him plenty of time to question Malfoy and get Malfoy to open up to him.

            Harry had also convinced Bourke that they should investigate Aescwine and Vance’s misconduct. The two former night guards were only suspended pending their day in court; if no one bothered gathering evidence and putting the case together, they would be cleared and might even get their jobs back. Harry was not about to let Vance get away with torturing the inmates and Aescwine with raping Malfoy. Malfoy may have made a few mistakes, but there was absolutely no excuse for an Auror to rape or torture a prisoner in Ministry custody.

            Harry didn’t even think Malfoy’s crimes were that bad. Sure Malfoy had willingly joined the Death Eaters and had almost killed three people sixth year, but in the end, he couldn’t do it. Malfoy had lowered his wand on the Astronomy tower. Malfoy had also lied for Harry when Harry had been captured by snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor. And during all of those glimpses of Malfoy Harry had throughout the war, Harry could always tell that Malfoy hadn’t wanted to do what Voldemort and the other Death Eaters were making him do. By the end, Malfoy had been forced into serving Voldemort.

            Malfoy’s questionable guilt, combined with the fact that he had a newborn baby and was currently pregnant as result of a rape that had occurred while in Ministry custody made Harry determined to get Malfoy cleared of all charges. While Harry was putting together his case against Vance and Aescwine during working hours, he was working on his case for Malfoy’s freedom at home. During his one night a week to question Malfoy, Harry also made sure to question Malfoy about the crimes Malfoy had been accused of, so he could gather evidence in Malfoy’s favor.

            The biggest crime in Harry’s eyes was Malfoy’s pregnancy with Scorpius, but Malfoy obviously wasn’t the guilty party there. It happened slowly over time, but eventually Malfoy opened up to Harry and told Harry about Scorpius’ conception on Halloween night the year before. Voldemort had conceived the baby with some ritual and Malfoy hadn’t really wanted to go along with it, but thought he would be killed if he refused. Lucius Malfoy was already out of favor with Voldemort at the time and Voldemort chose Malfoy both as a way to punish him for not killing Dumbledore himself and fully fulfilling orders, and as a reward for his role in Dumbledore’s death and letting Death Eaters into Hogwarts.

            A ritual was typical with a male pregnancy. Excess body parts had to be created and that required a potion, with conception being more likely if ritual magic was involved. So the fact that there was a ritual wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was the dark magic Voldemort had incorporated into it and the séance calling upon the spirits of their dead ancestors to guide the creation of this new life; Voldemort had been trying to create a more powerful wizard to rule beside him. At least Malfoy hadn’t been made to have sex with Voldemort.

            The fact that there was no actual sex involved wasn’t unusual for a male pregnancy; the semen from each parent had to be collected separately, prepared differently, and then combined in just the right way during the ritual, or conception would never happen. That was how Voldemort had fooled Malfoy, no doubt, because the one thing that seemed to be certain was that Voldemort hadn’t used his own semen to create Scorpius. The Auror department had brewed the paternity potion half a dozen different times. The baby had been tested and retested and not once was there any indication that tissue taken from Voldemort’s corpse was linked to Baby Scorpius.

            Voldemort had told Malfoy that Malfoy was to carry his baby, but had secretly used semen from some other wizard. The father was likely a Death Eater and maybe even one of Voldemort’s loyal supporters, given that He had chosen to take the wizard’s sperm to create what was to be his heir, but the father was not actually Voldemort himself. Harry was quite relieved when he learned that Malfoy’s innocent little baby wasn’t actually Voldemort’s spawn. Harry really didn’t fancy the idea of Voldemort having left a kid behind in this world to carry out Salazar Slytherin’s noble work in Voldemort’s absence.

            That just left the questions of who Scorpius’ father was and how exactly had Malfoy gotten pregnant the second time, without the ritual. It wasn’t unheard of for one male pregnancy to be followed by a second spontaneous pregnancy, given sex. Once the organs from the first pregnancy were there, they were there until the wizard stopped nursing. Malfoy was still nursing Scorpius, which explained why the potion wasn’t needed. As for how the semen from both parties met, joined, and the resulting embryo made its way to the correct location inside of Malfoy, that was a bit harder to explain.

            Malfoy still had the birth canal from Scorpius’ birth, which explained how Aescwine’s seed got in during the rape, but Malfoy’s semen shouldn’t have been present. It was never deposited nor treated with the proper potions to make it bind to Aescwine’s semen, so how did this baby form? No one could be certain, but the best guess was that it had something to do with the residual magic from the ritual of the first conception.

            Spontaneous second male pregnancies tended to occur exactly on the anniversary of the first male pregnancy, when the residual magic was the strongest. Malfoy’s second pregnancy did seem to have occurred on or near Halloween night, exactly one year after Scorpius was conceived, so the residual magic hypothesis was likely. The ritual was probably a really strong one, given that Voldemort, a séance, and dark magic were all involved, so there was likely plenty of residual magic buzzing around Malfoy. That combined with Malfoy’s repeated rape at the hands of Aescwine, explained how Malfoy had gotten pregnant.

            Aescwine had to be the father of Malfoy’s second baby, but who had fathered his first? Who was little Scorpius’ other father, if not Voldemort? Whoever it was, he must have had coal black hair if the baby’s coloring was anything to go by. Scorpius didn’t have much hair, but what he did have was very dark. Voldemort had originally had black hair, but black hair was extremely common; Draco even had one black haired grandparent. Scorpius’ bright blue eyes too could be found in Draco’s family, with Narcissa Malfoy and her father both having the same shade of blue as the baby. Scorpius wasn’t pointy enough to bear that much of a resemblance to Lucius Malfoy’s side of the family, but the baby seemed to have the rugged good looks of a Black.

            Most of the Aurors thought it was a possibility that the black hair, blue eyes, and facial features had all come from Malfoy himself. Of course Harry had gone to Hermione with his speculations, to see what she knew on the matter of inheritance. Hermione, having studied muggle genetics in her free time, thought that it was impossible for Malfoy to have contributed the black hair and unlikely the blue eyes, although she did admit that the Black facial features probably did come from Narcissa, through Draco.

            Whoever Scorpius’ second father was, two things seemed to be certain. First, they would never know for sure, now that Voldemort and all of his most devout followers were dead. Second, the other father was himself deceased. In their zeal to prove beyond a doubt that Scorpius wasn’t Voldemort’s spawn, the Aurors had tested every captured Death Eater for paternity. Sure they had the multiple negative paternity tests concerning Voldemort, but until they had a positive test with someone else, there was still the slight chance that the paternity detection potion had been faulty all six times. Maybe the Ministry had gotten an entire crate of boomslang skin that was passed its prime and the resulting potion would never confirm anyone as father.

            Even all of the late black haired Death Eaters were exhumed and tested, but still there was no match. The possibility that the other father was still a fugitive remained, but as more and more Death Eaters were brought in and tested, that seemed increasingly unlikely. Therefor the only explanation was that Scorpius’ father was a Death Eater who had died without leaving behind a body for the Ministry to test or had died and hadn’t had black hair after all. There was a push by a few to exhume all of the non-raven haired Death Eaters, but that was squashed by pointing out how many Death Eaters had died without leaving behind bodies. An entire cluster of them had been killed in an explosion while on the run a few months back, not to mention those who died on the run and were ravaged by animals or cremated by fellow Death Eaters, so that their bodies wouldn’t be desecrated.

            “You know who I think it is, Harry?” Bourke asked.

            “No, who?” Harry replied.

            They were once again on night duty, with Malfoy there to question if they came up with a new idea. Malfoy was being fed more and didn’t look quite so shockingly thin and was cleaner too. Harry himself was now responsible for forcing Malfoy into the shower once a week and making sure he was bathed. Male prisoners were to be escorted to and from the showers by male guards and Harry was the only male Auror that Malfoy would let near him. When Harry wasn’t on guard duty, Malfoy had to settle for cleaning charms from Isobel. It was Isobel who bathed Baby Scorpius almost every day, making sure that the baby was clean. But as a female, she wasn’t allowed to escort Malfoy to the showers.

            At first Harry had assumed Malfoy’s grubby appearance was due to neglect on the part of the guards and that no one was taking him to the showers like they were supposed to. But now that he had personal experience with the arduous task, he felt infinitely more sympathetic to the guards who were trying, because Malfoy was truly a nightmare to bathe. Malfoy refused to willingly undress in front of the male Aurors and even soiled himself on occasion, because male guards wouldn’t stop looking at him when he needed to use the toilet. Harry solved part of the problem by providing Malfoy with swim shorts before trying to get Malfoy into the shower.

            Once the swim shorts were on, there was always a fight to get Malfoy to leave Baby Scorpius with Bourke, since the baby couldn’t go into the showers with him. Malfoy didn’t trust Bourke to be left alone with the baby, so they had to take the baby to Malfoy’s aunt, Mrs. Rosier, over in the female Death Eater side of the holding cells. Malfoy trusted Mrs. Rosier to watch the baby and keep Scorpius safe from Bourke and the other guards. But the hand over never went smoothly, because Malfoy wasn’t allowed to hand over the baby himself. It always took Harry about half an hour to reassure Malfoy that he was taking Scorpius over to his aunt and that the baby would be fine.

            Convincing Malfoy to leave his baby wasn’t even the worst part about bathing Malfoy. The worst part was that Malfoy always insisted on turning the temperature up to scalding hot. Harry would turn it on at a normal temperature, but Malfoy would complain that it was cold and that he was freezing. The inmates were allowed to control the temperature lever themselves and if Harry so much as blinked Malfoy would have that lever up to scalding again. Harry always knew immediately when Malfoy did it, because he could see smoke billowing out from the water and Malfoy’s skin turning a burnt, scarlet color. Then Harry would have to step in and spell the lever back to normal so that Malfoy wouldn’t keep standing there, burning himself. And then there was the burn salve to be applied, to heal the damage; these days he was prepared for that, with the tube of salve already in hand.

            As much work as it was to get Malfoy into the shower, he never seemed to want to leave either. Harry would ask Malfoy if he was done yet, but no matter how long Malfoy had been in there, nor how much soap he had used, nor how much he had scrubbed, he always answered in the negative. Harry had to go by the clock with Malfoy and force him out and back to his cell when the requisite time was up.

            Harry wasn’t looking forward to the process later tonight, but he would do it, because he was the only one willing to put up with Malfoy and his shower oddities. And well, given what Vance and Aescwine had done to Malfoy, Harry really couldn’t blame him for being afraid to go into a bathroom alone with a male Auror; Malfoy was probably afraid he was going to be raped again and couldn’t differentiate that he was safe and that it was just Harry this time. And from what Hermione told Harry about rape victims wanting to wash the touch of their rapist off of them, it seemed that spending hours in scalding hot water was a normal reaction to being raped. Harry would put up with all Malfoy’s shite later tonight, so that Malfoy could have one proper shower a week, but that was not until later. Right now it was still questioning time.

            “Marcus Flint. He had black hair, didn’t he? And his father, when we questioned him, had those same bright blue eyes. Flint died in that explosion with the rest of them Death Eaters over in Yorkshire.”

            “No, not Marcus. Marcus is too big and muscular; he was shorter and scrawny,” Draco replied, looking up from where he sat in his cell on his cot, holding his baby.

            “How do you know how big he was?” Harry asked. “I thought you never saw him?”

            Malfoy just shrugged.

            “Draco, answer me, this is important. If you saw him, then you have to tell me who he was,” Harry said seriously.

            “Don’t know,” Malfoy replied.

            “You don’t know his name, but you saw him, yeah? You could draw us a sketch. You’re good with sketches, aren’t you?” Harry asked, remembering all of the sketches Malfoy used to draw in school. Harry still remembered the one depicting himself being hit by a bludger and falling off of his broom.

            “Not really,” Malfoy answered.

            “Not really, you’re not good with sketches, or you didn’t really see him?” Harry asked, glancing over at Bourke. Bourke always let Harry interrogate Malfoy, because Harry seemed to get more out of Malfoy. Malfoy shied away from Bourke, like he was scared Bourke would turn out to be like Vance and Aescwine.

            “Didn’t really see him.”

            “What did you see? And when did you see it?”

            “In my dreams. I can never see his face, but he’s small and scrawny, like you.”

            “Patterson will need to be told about this one; he’s got ten galleons down on Malfoy being bonkers,” Bourke whispered quietly to Harry.

            Harry and Patterson had a disagreement about Malfoy’s sanity. Patterson thought nothing Malfoy said could be trusted, because Malfoy was clearly insane. Harry thought Malfoy was just a little mixed up in the head, from all of the rape and torture. Harry was sure that if he asked the right questions, he could get the answers out of Malfoy. Malfoy assigning paternity of Scorpius to a scrawny figure he’d seen only in a dream would be counted as a mark in Patterson’s favor. And then there were a couple of instances when Malfoy had mistaken Harry for Aescwine and Harry had to prevent Malfoy from acting inappropriately; that along with Malfoy’s reaction to a shower were additional marks in Patterson’s favor.

            “And what else could you tell about him? Could you see his hair?” Harry asked, hoping that this dream was really Malfoy’s subconscious way of revealing a memory Malfoy had tried to suppress.

            “Black.”

            Harry took an intake of breath, hoping that Malfoy had seen Scorpius’ other father after all. If they had even this vague physical description to go on, maybe they could figure out the riddle. “And when did you have this dream? Around the time of the ritual?” Harry asked hopefully.

            “Halloween.”

            “Halloween last year, I knew it. Voldemort may have switched the semen, but somehow Malfoy had this dream of the real father,” Harry proclaimed.

            “I remember, because Scorpius woke me up screaming right after. Aescwine came over and told me to shut the baby up or he was going to shut Scorpius up, permanently,” Draco added, dashing Harry’s hypothesis.

            “He had the dream this year, not last, from the sounds of it. It was likely some random dream,” Bourke said.

            “Maybe it came to him from the residual of the ritual. Maybe he didn’t see the father then, but still knows,” Harry replied to Bourke. “Draco, what makes you think this man was Scorpius’ father?”

            “Not Scorpius, this new baby,” Malfoy answered.

            “What?” Harry asked in shock. They were talking about Scorpius, weren’t they? Everyone knew that the new baby was Aescwine’s.

            Malfoy just put his hand over his growing lower abdomen and looked down at the baby within his body. “Scorpius was the Dark Lord, I told you. This one was the scrawny wizard with black hair.”

            “What makes you say that?” Harry asked.

            “He was the one who touched me that night,” Malfoy said with a shrug.

            “So there were two Aurors raping him?” Bourke asked incredulously. “We’ve got to look at who was on the schedule with Aescwine that night. It could be anyone who has been assigned guard duty since Malfoy had the baby.”

            “Are you sure Draco? Are you sure this baby isn’t Auror Aescwine’s?” Harry asked. Aescwine didn’t match Draco’s description at all. He was big and burly, with mousy brown hair and honey brown eyes. Vance too was larger and didn’t have black hair.

            Malfoy nodded and handed Harry out a dirty nappy to clean. The fact that Malfoy randomly seemed to hand Harry things to clean was one of Patterson’s points against Malfoy’s sanity. Why didn’t Malfoy just hand the blasted things out right after changing the baby? Why would Malfoy wait in the cell with the filth balled up next to him for hours, before realizing that the guards were there and willing to clean soiled nappies? Harry thought it must have to do with Vance’s or Aescwine’s neglect. Patterson thought it was because Malfoy had lost his sanity.

            “But you said it was a dream,” Harry protested.

            Malfoy shook his head and seemed to be having trouble remembering again, judging by the confused look on his face.

            “Did this other wizard rape you on Halloween?” Harry asked.

            Malfoy nodded.

            “Who was it? Another Auror?”

            Again, Malfoy nodded. Harry and Bourke both let out heavy sighs as they realized the abuse was more widespread.

            “You stay here and I’ll get the logs for that night,” Bourke said, walking away from Malfoy’s cell, towards the guard office.

            “Do you know his name Draco?” Harry asked gently.

            Malfoy shrugged and said, “Potter.”

            “Yes, it’s me Harry Potter, Draco. You were telling me about who impregnated you in here. Who raped you Halloween night?”

            “Can’t make out the face. Concealment charm maybe,” Malfoy answered, trailing off in thought. “Or polyjuice; bad polyjuice that didn’t fully take.”

            Harry sighed in frustration, wondering who had come in here with Aescwine that night and abused Malfoy. If the Auror had done something to disguise his appearance, it would make finding the culprit that much harder. If it was polyjuice, maybe it was Aescwine after all, or even Vance.

            “No one is signed in Halloween night, besides Aescwine,” Bourke said, coming back to Harry.

            “Then he’s confused and it really was Aescwine,” Harry replied.

            “Or one of his buddies who wasn’t supposed to be on guard duty at all. Someone who was more concerned with being found out, so Aescwine snuck him in for some fun.”

            “No, I think it was Aescwine by himself. Malfoy just said it looked like it could’ve been spoiled polyjuice. You know that if it sits too long it doesn’t properly transform the face. He said he saw the body, but not the face, like bad polyjuice. What if Aescwine was polyjuicing himself to look like someone else, to make the prisoners think there were more corrupt Aurors than just him and Vance? Maybe that’s how they got all of them so scared that they didn’t tell,” Harry hypothesized.

            “It’s a possibility; we’ll just have to wait until the baby is born and test all of the Aurors. I think it’s also possible that the culprit wasn’t even an Auror, just a friend of Aescwine’s,” Bourke replied.

            “It has to be Aescwine; he confessed,” Harry replied.

            Aescwine was first questioned under veritaserum, but was able to thwart the potion after all of his years of being an Auror. After that their best legilimens was called in to examine Aescwine’s memory. The legilimens confirmed that Aescwine had indeed raped Malfoy and a few of the female Death Eaters too. After that Aescwine confessed and said it was Malfoy’s fault for being a queer with a vaginal canal. Harry was furious when he heard it, because even if Malfoy were queer and had willingly gotten pregnant with Scorpius, Malfoy still didn’t deserve to have been raped. And Harry didn’t know if Malfoy was really queer, because every time he asked Malfoy about it, Malfoy denied it and said he liked witches.

            “Alright Draco, tell us about Aescwine and Vance again. Last time you were saying they didn’t actively hurt Scorpius, they just neglected the pair of you or hurt you, but left the baby, right?” Harry prompted.

            “Vance was going to let me have the baby right on this floor, but Scorpius was stuck and wouldn’t come out. Then Vance’s shift ended and Isobel came. She made the other Auror take me to the medi-witch. They got Scorpius turned around and out,” Malfoy said.

            Harry had heard this story before. It seemed to be the most traumatizing event out of all of the times the night guards had neglected him, because Malfoy brought it up a lot. Harry could picture Malfoy lying here on the floor, dying giving birth to a baby that was stuck inside him; just hearing about it the first time was traumatizing.

            “What else Draco?”

            “Vance liked to crucio me until I’d pass out. And then Scorpius would be all by himself crying until Isobel came in the morning.”

            Isobel always seemed to save Malfoy in his stories. She came in at six in the morning almost every weekday since before Malfoy was brought in, so Harry and Bourke could see how Malfoy and the other prisoners had seen her as their savior after surviving another night with Aescwine or Vance.

            “You’re doing really well Draco. I’m going to get Vance locked up in Azkaban for what he did to you,” Harry assured.

            “Once Scorpius was really sick and wouldn’t stop crying. Isobel got him a potion to help, but he was still miserable and fussing. She took him on a walk for me, to calm him, since I couldn’t leave this cell and she could. She took him over to the female Death Eater holding cells. Mrs. Rosier, my mother’s cousin, is over there. She showed Isobel how to calm Scorpius and sooth his upset tummy with a massage. Isobel brought Scorpius back to me and showed me how to do it. Sometimes Isobel takes Scorpius down there and the women sing and coo at him.”

            Well that wasn’t exactly what Harry wanted to know. It was nice that Isobel had taken good care of Draco and the baby—at least someone had—but Harry needed more dirt on Vance and Aescwine.

            “What did Vance and Aescwine do when the baby was sick?” Harry asked.

            “Vance wasn’t there. Aescwine told me to shut him up or he’d stupefy Scorpius.”

            “And did he?”  
            Draco shrugged.

            “I need to know the details of what happened Draco. I need you to tell me,” Harry pleaded.

            “Don’t know; he stupefied me first,” Draco admitted with another shrug.

            “You’re doing great Draco,” Harry encouraged, writing down this new information. With details like this, Harry was going to have a great case against Aescwine.

            It went on like that, with Malfoy telling Bourke and Harry more things he remembered from his time with Vance and Aescwine. With every new detail, one thought kept crossing Harry’s mind: hadn’t Malfoy and the baby suffered enough? Shouldn’t they be released, for time served? Harry was going to do his best to see that they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next Harry will get Draco out of jail.  
> Please Review!


	3. Chapter3

            It took time and a lot of work, but Harry eventually got Draco Malfoy released from Azkaban. Vance and Aescwine had been brought up on charges for what they had done to Draco and were in the Ministry Holding Cells themselves awaiting their own trials.

            Over the past six months that Harry had been working on the case, he had only grown even more disgusted with what the former Aurors had done. For Harry, the worst part came in the form of a pensieve memory. He’d asked Draco to show him the memory of the second baby’s conception. Draco had refused at first and Harry really didn’t want to see the gruesome details, but they needed to know who the father was. They thought that there was a chance that if they saw it, they would be able to tell, so they had kept pestering Draco until he showed them.

            The memory was shifty, like from a dream. Neither Harry nor his partner could make out any of the details, especially with the face. There was just black hair and a small scrawny body. Bourke thought that out of all of the Aurors, the body was closest to Harry’s, but they both knew that couldn’t be; not when it was Harry pushing to investigate and trying to figure out who it really was. After much debate, they had decided that the perpetrator was either not an Auror or was polyjuiced into someone else; possibly even polyjuiced into Harry himself, so that Harry would get the blame if anyone ever found out. Polyjuice passed its prime really was the best answer for why the face was so uniformly blurry during the entire encounter. A pensieve was not like a regular memory; in a pensieve, every detail that is there is supposed to be crystal clear, whether the source of the memory could remember it or not. Pensieve faces were not supposed to be blurry.

            Draco looked like he could have fought his attacker off if he tried; the attacker was that short and scrawny. But the guy had a wand while Draco did not and Draco was behind bars, so he couldn’t escape. Draco didn’t seem to like it, but had lain there on his back and took it on the cot in that awful holding cell. Draco’s eyes were closed half of the time and when they were open, he wasn’t looking at the wizard raping him, but over on the other side of the cell where Scorpius lay sleeping in the blanket. Draco seemed to be checking that the baby was still asleep.

            Needless to say, Draco had been through enough and Harry was able to win the case for Draco’s release. The time and date of the release was arranged ahead of time, so Harry made sure to take the day off to help Draco and Scorpius get settled in.

            Before the date, Harry went around to Malfoy Manor and visited Draco’s mother Narcissa. The Manor was stripped completely bare by the Ministry, with only enough furniture, kitchenware, and dishes for one person, since Narcissa had been the only free Malfoy at the time. The rest of the Malfoy possessions were confiscated and sold off, along with the contents of their vaults—even the peacocks were gone—it had all gone to pay to repair damages after the war. All of the Death Eater families were forced to pay monetary reparations.

            A barren Manor wouldn’t do for Draco to return to. Scorpius was an active baby, always crawling around and getting into things; he’d just taken his first steps the other day. Draco was getting ready to pop with the second baby and in no shape to decorate a house and had no money to pay for it. Thus Harry went to Grimmauld place and scrounged up one of the beds, which he had Kreacher move over to the Manor for Draco. He’d moved in two dressers and an armoire as well. Then he’d gone out and bought a crib, a toddler bed, a changing table, and a highchair, so that Draco would have the basics. Once delivered, Narcissa set it up, so there was now a room ready for Draco’s homecoming.

            “Do I have to do this? Can’t I just go home?” Draco asked petulantly.

            They were currently waiting in a room at St. Mungo’s. It was their first stop after Draco’s release. Harry had made the appointment as soon as he’d learned the time and date of said release, because he wanted a real healer to check over Draco and Scorpius. Yes, Scorpius looked fine, but Draco was eight months pregnant and was a man! Surely Draco was in need of some proper medical treatment and not the dung heap the Ministry calls a clinic. Draco had given birth and was now about ready to do so again and all without seeing a proper healer, hence there was no way Draco was going to talk Harry out of this appointment.

            “No, just grit your teeth and bear it. Aren’t you at least excited to see how Scorpius is doing?” Harry asked, holding onto the baby’s little hands as Scorpius tried to pull away again.

            “Ahh ah aaaah!” Scorpius exclaimed, before starting to fuss at not being let go.

            “He’s doing fine; just look at him,” Draco replied.

            Harry huffed, but made Draco stay put. It wasn’t much longer before a healer came in to look Scorpius over and confirmed that the baby was healthy. Then there was more waiting for Draco’s healer. Harry got up to walk around the room with Scorpius. When he passed by the door, he noticed the display of a pregnant wizard’s anatomy on the door. Seeing the depiction of all those organs squished together with a baby bulging out of the wizard’s stomach just looked wrong. Harry looked from the diagram to Draco, taking in how obviously round with child Draco was, and then back to the diagram. Why any wizard would willingly go through this, Harry didn’t understand. He didn’t even understand why a witch would willingly do it, and women were meant to have babies.

            Finally the healer entered the room and made Draco lie back on the table for examination. Draco groaned and complained the entire time, asking the woman not to touch him and saying rather loudly how uncomfortable she was making him. He was so far along that when the exam was complete, the healer went over birthing instructions. Since this baby was conceived in Ministry custody, the Ministry was taking full responsibility. That meant that this visit was being paid for along with the birth itself and any other medical treatment Draco would need in association with this pregnancy. Therefore Draco was to come in when the time comes.

            The Ministry still thought that Aescwine was likely the father and if not him, it was one of the other Aurors. Once the baby is born, they’d test a whole slew of Aurors until the culprit is found. The Ministry had plans for punishment and financial responsibility for the kid that would go into action as soon as the rapist was known. For now it was the Ministry footing the bill, but they were eager to move the bill along to the man responsible.

            “I don’t eat any sweets or overdo it. I’ve been locked up in a five by five holding cell for the last year, for Merlin’s sake!” Draco complained.

            Harry felt bad for the healer; she was just trying to make sure Draco knew the proper protocol for taking care of his health this late in the pregnancy. Harry himself was worried Draco might get out and take off running or something, because Draco was so excited for his freedom. Harry could picture Draco indulging in all of those things he had been disallowed for so long, but was just glad Draco got a clean bill of health, because he didn’t think he could go through another appointment with Draco like this one.

            The only time during the visit when Draco stopped complaining was when the healer informed them that he was carrying another little boy. They needed to go shopping next and that knowledge would be important in such an endeavor. And it seemed to be the only tidbit Draco was interested in during the grueling hour.

            When Draco was finally released, the three of them headed for a department store in muggle London. Diagon Alley wasn’t too far away, but Harry was keen to avoid the wizarding world, because he didn’t want to get mobbed by fans when he was out trying to buy nappies. Draco didn’t seem too happy about buying muggle, but he didn’t have any money of his own and he didn’t voice his complaints about this shopping trip. At least Draco didn’t until they were actually outside the entrance to the store.

            “Harry, muggles don’t kidnap children and torture them, do they? The burning on the stakes and drowning in the wells…those things don’t still happen, right?” Draco asked nervously, clutching Harry’s arm by the elbow.

            “No, not so much anymore, but still don’t tell them you’re pregnant. Let them think you’re just really fat, yeah?” Harry asked, shifting Scorpius on his hip. He was carrying the baby, because Scorpius was too large now for Draco to carry. In his present state, Draco could barely walk.

            “Right. And Harry?”

            “What Draco?”

            “Did I mention I’m terrified of muggles? I’ve never actually met one before, but I’ve heard the stories the Carrows were teaching us last year in Muggle Studies. My grandparents used to tell me those stories when I was little. You know, about muggles torturing children?”

            “Draco, nothing the Carrows ever said was remotely true. The muggles won’t hurt you.”

            “Harry, just keep a tight hold of Scorpius, will you? And apparate him away if something happens. You can come back for me and play the hero, but save him first, yes?”

            Harry rolled his eyes. “Yes, alright. Come on now.”

            Only then did Draco nod and step forward again, walking with Harry into the store.

            Harry found a cart and strapped Scorpius into the child’s seat, before leading Draco back to the baby section. “Alright, what size does Scorpius wear?” Harry asked, staring at an aisle filled with every type of nappy under the sun.

            “How would I know? I’ve been in jail the past year and don’t buy the nappies, do I? Isobel just brings them in with her. None of these look remotely like the ones she brings,” Draco replied, eyeing the aisle skeptically.

            “Those were cloth nappies; muggles normally use disposable. They’ll work just as good if we can figure out the right size to get.”

            “Disposable, like they throw them in the bin, instead of washing them?”

            “Yeah, that’s the idea. They’re easier to use.”

            “But I can’t afford to keep coming back here to buy more nappies; not with the rate he goes through them. They have to have some real ones somewhere.”

            “Fine, I’ll track someone down and ask, but you have to keep quiet and not let on that you’re pregnant or have been in jail all this time or anything magical at all.”

            “Alright, I promise. Go on then.”

            Harry left Draco standing there and looked around the baby department until he found a chubby young teenager stocking the baby formula.

            “Excuse me miss, but can I get your help with something?” Harry asked.

            “Yeah, sure, what is it?” the muggle asked.

            “Well this is going to make us sound like a couple of fools, but my sister left her boyfriend and me with the baby here for the weekend. We took him to this football game and I thought we were doing so well, only we forgot the nappy bag at the stadium. We need nappies and spare clothes. We don’t want to show back up round my sister’s place empty handed and look like the morons who lost the nappy bag, you see. Only we’ve no clue what to get for him. Can you help?”

            “Yeah, we’ve got everything. We should start with a nappy bag to replace the one you lost and then find stuff to fill it.”

            “Sure, but could we actually start with the nappies? My sister’s boyfriend’s in the nappy aisle right now and he can’t figure out which ones to get.” While he talked, Harry led the muggle to the next aisle over, where Draco was still standing. As the muggle appeared in sight, Draco shifted, putting his body between her and the baby.

            The muggle teenager eyed Draco skeptically, taking in how fat he seemed to be at the waist, but small everywhere else. He was wearing trousers and a big baggy sweater, but the belly was impossible to hide. Scorpius was almost completely eclipsed by that belly.

            “What brand does your girlfriend normally buy?” the teen asked.

            “Cloth,” Draco answered, trying to sound normal, but his voice came out tense.

            Draco wasn’t the bravest person and Harry hoped Draco could pull this off. He pictured how funny he would’ve found it two years ago if he’d known his boyhood rival was frightened of muggles. Only it wasn’t funny anymore and he wouldn’t laugh if this didn’t go right. They needed clothes and nappies for Scorpius, not an incident report on how many memory charms were perform on muggles to cover up their mess.

            “Right, well we’ve only got one brand of cloth. They’re down in this corner, because no one ever buys them. What size is he?”

            “I don’t know, but he’ll be a year old next month,” Draco answered.

            “Can I check the label in his clothes? That will normally tell,” the teen said.

            Harry peered into the back of Scorpius’ shirt, but it was wizard made and had no label. “Um, I think my mum hand sewed these clothes. She’s always making things like these little outfits,” Harry lied with a shrug.

            “I think he probably needs a size twelve to eighteen months. It’s always best to go larger. This way he can fit in them for longer,” she said, grabbing a pack of nappies from the shelf.

            Harry took the package and saw that there were only three inside. “Yeah, these are good, but we’re supposed to be watching him all day today and tomorrow too. Do you have any more?” he asked.

            They did have a few more packages, so Harry grabbed them all.

            “You’ll need wipes and food too, if you’ve got him for the weekend,” she said, pulling out a large package of wipes.

            Harry agreed saying, “Yeah, and if we buy loads of stuff, maybe she won’t notice that we’ve lost all her stuff. She might be so happy that we’re helping out that she forgets to chew us out.” With that, he grabbed another package.

            “You can try it, but I’m sure she’ll notice eventually, especially if you’ve lost handmade items,” she said. Then she took them over to pick out a new nappy bag and some baby food to go with it. “Now what type of formula and bottles does she use? You’ll want to get exactly the same, or you could, like, upset his stomach or something.”

            “Um, she nurses,” Draco replied stiffly.

            “Yeah and we haven’t lost the bag of breast milk; we put that in the fridge before going to the game. We only lost the one empty bottle, so I think we’ll be good,” Harry hastened to explain, before the muggle thought they were taking a baby all weekend with no milk.

            “Good thinking there; she’d probably be pissed royally if you lost that,” the teen said, before leading them over to the rattles and soother section. “Now she probably had a small toy and a binky in the bag; you’ll want something for when he starts fussing.”

            Neither wizard knew what to make of this section, but Harry grabbed a few rattles and moved her along to the clothing section, where the muggle explained how to tell which size they needed to get. “And if you’re really not sure, you can always take one of each size to the fitting room and try them on,” she finished.

            They took her suggestion and decided to try a set of clothes on Scorpius for size. The baby fit in the size nine months still, but Draco ended up getting the next size up. They spent a long time looking through clothes, picking out tons of things, since Scorpius needed an entire wardrobe. While they shopped, the muggle wandered off, to finish restocking the baby formula section. As soon as she was out of earshot, the wizards started discussing what to get for the new baby too. Now that they knew it was another boy, they picked out a bunch of tiny boy outfits.

            On their way out, Harry swung the cart back by the nappy aisle and grabbed all of the cloth nappies in the other sizes too, so that Draco would have them for the new baby. He even bought the two packs in the largest size, figuring that Draco could shrink them down for Scorpius to wear now; there were just so few of the packs in each size that Harry thought it would be best to grab them all. The cart was completely full of baby stuff when they finally made their way to the front of the store to pay.

            Next stop was Malfoy Manor, where Narcissa Malfoy was waiting for them with open arms. She hugged and kissed Draco and Scorpius repeatedly, before thanking Harry for his help over and over again. Harry stayed and helped watch Scorpius, while Narcissa got Draco situated and put away all of the new baby things.

            “I hope you don’t mind, but with Draco being pregnant, I gave him the bed the Ministry left me, because it’s bigger. I’ve taken the bed you brought over to my room,” Narcissa explained as Draco plopped himself down on the sofa in the sitting room.

            The room looked bare, having only the one sofa and nothing else. All of the doors were open and Harry could see that the other rooms looked equally bare. There seemed to be nothing but a desk and a single chair through one door, while another door contained a completely empty room. Draco’s room had the furniture Harry had already brought over and Narcissa’s room contained the small amount of furniture the Ministry had left her, along with the small bed Harry had brought. There were stairs, going up to another floor, but Harry didn’t think it would have anymore furnishing than there were down here. In fact, Harry couldn’t imagine there being anything at all on the third floor, or Narcissa would have brought it down to furnish this part of the house they were living in.

            So it wasn’t much, but it was enough to sustain the family of four for a few years. Draco would have the baby soon and Narcissa was here to help him with the children. Harry had seen crops growing outside, so he knew there was food; the family wouldn’t starve. And Draco had been promised a minimum of twenty galleons a month support payments by the Ministry for the new baby, so there would be some cash coming in, even if it wasn’t much. It would get them by for now and Draco had his skills. Harry was certain that Draco could make enough money brewing and selling potions out of the Manor that the Malfoy family would be alright. The Malfoys always seemed to land on their feet, didn’t they?

            Harry knew that Draco would make it, Draco just needed one more thing; the hawthorn wand. Harry still had it after all this time, since Draco hadn’t been allowed a wand while incarcerated. Of course Harry hadn’t needed it, not after having repaired his own phoenix feather wand; he had been saving Draco’s wand to give back. Harry pulled it out of his pocket and casually handed it over to Draco.

            “Here, I thought you might need this back,” Harry said.

            “Thanks! I never thought I’d see it again. I thought it was destroyed in the war,” Draco replied, taking the wand and examining it closely.

            “I didn’t need it after I repaired my old one. You’re free, so you can have one again. You’ll be able to take care of your boys yourself now.”

            “It’s good to be free. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. You’re not such a git after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter the story will jump forward in time to when they finally find out who the father is.  
> Please Review!


	4. Chapter4

            Harry hadn’t heard from Draco Malfoy or any of the other Malfoys in almost six years when he received the letter. He occasionally heard news about Draco, Scorpius, Caelum, and Narcissa Malfoy from Tonks’ mum, Andy. Draco never visited Andy and Teddy, but Narcissa occasionally brought the boys over to play. Teddy was bigger than the Malfoy boys, although not much older, so Andy was always giving Teddy’s old things to Narcissa for Scorpius and Caelum; Andy didn’t think the Malfoy family was even close to well off these days. But from what she said, Harry thought they were getting by.

            Harry had visited Draco and the boys regularly at first. Harry was working when Draco had little Caelum Lucius, but he rushed over to St. Mungo’s to see the baby the first chance he got. He remembered how anxious he was to see that baby; to see if he could recognize the other father by looking at the resulting child. Back then he had been certain the mystery would be solved the moment the baby was born. He’d foolishly assumed the kid would come out looking identical to whichever Auror had raped Draco on Halloween night.

            “Does he look like anyone we know?” Harry had asked Draco eagerly.

            Draco had been holding baby Caelum wrapped snuggly in a soft blue blanket. “Yes, absolutely identical I think,” Draco had answered with a smile.

            “To who? Who is it?”

            Draco pulled back the blanket from the little face for Harry to see. “My father and me; see, he’s got our blond hair and light grey eyes. It’s hard to tell when they’re this little, but I’m sure all of the features are Malfoy. That’s why I chose Lucius for his middle name.”

            Harry was disappointed at the news, because he had been hoping the rapist would be obvious. Apparently they would have to wait for the results of the paternity potion.

            Harry stuck around, helping Draco out with the new baby and little Scorpius, and he awaited the results of each paternity test eagerly. Vance and Aescwine had been tested first, but neither was a match for the baby. After them, they had gone through the entire list of Aurors who had had guard duty anytime remotely close to the date of conception. They even tested a few who were on good terms with Vance and Aescwine and some of their friends who weren’t Aurors. It didn’t seem to matter how many people they tested, because each test came back negative.

            Eventually, Harry and the others investigating the case had given up. They had other cases to work and Draco was no longer being abused. The kid was on the Ministry health insurance and Draco was receiving regular support payments from the Ministry as well. Draco didn’t seem to care who the other father was, just as long as he was getting that payment from the Ministry every month. So over time, the case had gradually shifted out of Auror radar.

            A few months after Caelum’s birth, Harry and Bourke started a new assignment. Harry was to get his first taste of undercover work and he was excited for it. Draco and the Malfoys seemed alright. The transition was gradual, so Harry didn’t notice as he spent less and less time at Malfoy Manor. One of the last visits Harry had to the Manor before he was to slip completely from sight was rather disturbing. It was the first week of November and Draco had mistaken Harry for Caelum’s father; for the man who had raped Draco in Ministry custody.

            Draco had been doing so much better and hadn’t said or done anything crazy in months. Harry had really thought Draco’s break with sanity was over for good. But then Draco had said Caelum had Harry’s ears of all things and asked Harry if he was pleased with their son. When Harry had rationally explained to Draco that he was Harry and not the man who had raped him, Draco freaked out. There was Draco’s usual endless apologies begging Harry not to hurt him and he curled himself into a ball, like he expected someone to start abusing him at any moment. In the end, Harry had had to call in Narcissa to calm Draco down and had left.

            After that, Harry thought his staying away from Draco was for the best. If Harry reminded Draco of the rapist, which seemed to be the case, then Draco was better off without Harry around to remind him of the horrible ordeal. Then the meat of Harry’s undercover assignment begun and he was cut off from everybody, including Ginny and Hermione, for six months, so he couldn’t have visited Malfoy even if he’d wanted to. Bourke, Ron, and Ron’s senior partner were all on assignment with him, so he wasn’t completely alone, but he had missed his friends and especially Ginny while he was gone.

            When Harry came back, he’d reconnected with most of his old friends. He reached out to Draco, but Draco wrote back saying it wasn’t a good time. Apparently Draco had a lot of work to do with his two boys, crops, and potions. It wasn’t until six weeks after Harry had returned that Draco had agreed to see him. When they met, Harry offered to help Draco out with the boys; he could take Draco’s two boys when he had Teddy and it really wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but Draco had refused the offer. Draco seemed uncomfortable with Harry around and he assumed it was because of his resemblance to the rapist. If that was the case, he didn’t want to force his company off on Draco.

            Harry had seen Draco and the boys a few more times after that, but Draco had grown moody and often didn’t reply to Harry for months at a time. Harry figured Draco was busy and he knew from Andy that Draco and the kids were alright. Harry was busy too, so he found himself forgetting about the Malfoys for longer and longer periods of time. When he did remember, it had been so long since they had last seen each other, that the thought of reaching out to them seemed awkward. He even began thinking of Draco as Malfoy again, like before they had grown close.

            Harry was surprised when the letter arrived this morning. It was supposed to be a typical Saturday morning and Harry had plans to relax and enjoy his day off. He had a date tonight with Ginny and this morning he was thinking about stopping by to see Neville. Harry had been full partners with Ron at work for four years now, so he saw his best mate more than enough on the job. Thus they tended to spend their downtime apart, so they would have something to talk about while at work, which was why he had the vague plans to see Neville and later definite plans with Ginny.

            Harry noticed immediately that it was not Draco Malfoy who sent the letter. No, the name Auror Harry Potter was written on the addressee line in a childish scrawl that looked more like something Teddy would do than Draco. Harry set down his coffee, unfurled the scroll, and skimmed straight to the bottom where there was the messy signature of Scorpius Malfoy. Teddy was in second grade now; perhaps Scorpius was too. Harry wondered if Scorpius wrote this all by himself as his eyes moved to the top of the page.

            And then Harry spit out his coffee all over the parchment, splattering the letter with brown dots. He immediately flicked his wand to salvage the letter, removing the coffee stains. After reading the second word on the page, he knew he had to read the rest of it. He set his coffee in the sink and sat back down to concentrate on the letter, reading each line multiple times before moving onto the next.

 

            _Dear Daddy,_

_Or do I have to call you Auror Potter, like Father does when he mentions you? I don’t know, because you never come to visit us anymore. I know you did once, because Father tells us the stories about you at bedtime every night. Well sometimes Cael asks for stories about dragons, but mostly Father’s stories are about you. We have the photos of you with us on the mantel on our fireplace, because they’re special. When I walk by them, I wish they were portraits of you, so I could ask you why._

_Why don’t you love us anymore Daddy? Why did you leave us? Why do we only have Father and Grandmother? Why don’t we have you too? Why don’t you at least send Father more money for us? He’s always budgeting out every payment and stretching it down to the last knut, but it’s not enough. They say you’re rich and famous, so why don’t you share with Father? It’s not nice not to share._

_I thought until now that you must not like children. Cael is a pain and used to cry a lot, so maybe that’s why you left. I would understand if it was— I’d leave Cael too if I could, but Father says that’s not what big brothers do and I’ve gotta be a proper big brother._

_Cael reckons that maybe we’re not really yours. He says that maybe you were just Father’s friend and are nice to send us the money you do give Father. But there’s no way that’s true, because I look just like you and my little brother’s got your green eyes too. Father’s always complaining that my messy black hair won’t lay flat, no matter what spell he casts on it. From the pictures we have of you, I can tell that yours is the same way. I’ve got your nose and chin too, I think. I keep telling Cael that there’s no way it’s anyone else, otherwise we wouldn’t all look like you and Father._

_Sometimes Grandmother takes me and Cael with her to see my great aunt and my second cousin. She took me with her yesterday and Cael and I played with Teddy Lupin. Teddy said that you’re practically a father to him. He said he lives over at your house sometimes and has got his own room and everything. Both his parents are dead and you’re his Godfather, so you take care of him. I think that’s nice. But why don’t you take care of us too? I’m your son, so why haven’t I ever been invited over to your house? I wouldn’t even need my own room, because I’m used to sharing._

_I remember when I was really little I used to ask Father why you didn’t come ‘round anymore. He’s got all these stories about you, but we never see you and you barely send us anything. I asked why he didn’t ask you for more money. He said that Malfoys do not beg. He said that if someone offered us something, then that was one thing, but I was not to go begging you for anything. So I’m not begging. You don’t want to give us more, ok, but I just want to know why Daddy?_

_-Love Scorpius Draco Malfoy_

_p.s. Please don’t tell Father I sent this. He                                                                                               doesn’t know and I’m not supposed to be                                                                                         using his quicky quill._

 

            Harry sat staring at the letter, re-reading it, and trying to make sense of the words for hours. Obviously Draco’s son seemed to think he was the mysterious other father.

            From the note on the bottom, Harry gathered that the letter was written using a quick quotes quill, but even then, it was well written for his age. Scorpius must be a very bright little boy, but was he Harry’s little boy?

            Harry considered the clues Scorpius had written. He’d known all along that the older boy had black hair, but he hadn’t known it was like his own. There wasn’t much of it when he’d first met Scorpius and when it did start growing in, Draco used to cut it regularly. It was certainly possible that Scorpius’ black hair had grown in thick and messy like Harry’s. Scorpius’ facial features had been small and chubby in that generic baby sort of way the last time Harry had seen him; did he really have Harry’s nose and chin now? Everyone always said Scorpius looked like the Black family, but might they be mistaken? Might Scorpius look like a Potter? Harry’s paternal grandmother was a Black and he definitely had some of the Black features himself.

            What about Caelum’s eyes? Harry distinctively remembered Draco telling him the baby’s eyes were grey, like Lucius’ eyes. Wasn’t that the reason Draco had chosen to name the baby after his father? Harry would never have named a kid after Lucius, but Caelum was Draco’s kid. As the only parent, Draco was free to name the child as he pleased. Awful middle name aside, did the baby’s eyes eventually change color? Did Caelum have green eyes, like Harry, now? A baby’s eye color often changes, so it was possible, but why hadn’t Draco ever told him? Even if Harry wasn’t the father, Draco knew that Harry wanted to know things like that to track down the rapist.

            Harry obviously knew he wasn’t the rapist, but he had never bothered to test himself. Maybe Caelum wasn’t conceived from the rape, but was somehow left over from when Voldemort created Scorpius. Harry still didn’t know how the residual magic worked exactly. Although he now knew more than before, he still didn’t know what was and was not possible. If Voldemort had somehow gotten hold of Harry’s semen, might he have used it to create Scorpius, and Caelum a year later by means of the residual magic?

            Harry had been captured and cornered by Voldemort plenty of times, but he was not aware of ever giving Voldemort a semen sample. He was Voldemort’s worst enemy anyway, so why would Voldemort chose Harry to impregnate Draco? Harry had power the Dark Lord knew not, everyone knew that, and maybe Voldemort was trying to gain that power for himself? Perhaps if his son was as powerful as he was, Voldemort might try to raise his son as Voldemort’s heir and thereby corrupt a power that should never have been within Voldemort’s control. Maybe Voldemort had chosen Harry on purpose.

            And if Harry was the father of both boys, then that explained why not one of those paternity tests ever returned a positive result, despite all of the wizards who had been tested. Between the Death Eater’s tested against Scorpius and the Aurors tested again Caelum, it was unbelievable that they’d never found either boys’ other father. What would happen if Harry tested himself? Might Harry have two sons?

            Well two more sons, because Harry thought of Teddy as his oldest son. He wanted children of his own; Merlin, that was why he’d asked Ginny to marry him last month. They were growing older and it was time for the two of them to get married, settle down, and have a kid of their own. Harry didn’t just want to have Teddy every other weekend anymore; he wanted a family to come home to. Ginny had agreed that this would be her last year playing Quidditch with the Harpies and the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to come together for Harry.

            But what if Harry had half a puzzle already? What if those two boys of Draco’s were his too? He certainly wouldn’t abandon them. Merlin, he couldn’t remember why he’d gone so long without seeing Draco now. Even if he wasn’t the father, those boys were obviously wanting and needing a father figure in their life. It wouldn’t be that much extra work for him to take the two boys on weekends when he had Teddy, especially not once Ginny became a stay at home mother and they had children of their own. And he had plenty of money, while the Malfoys seemed to be really struggling, so he didn’t mind equaling the Ministry’s support payment for the other child; it really wasn’t all that much money anyway.

            That thought reminded Harry of something in the letter about Draco already receiving support payments from Harry, so he went to the top and read the whole thing one more time. Afterwards, he concluded that Scorpius definitely must think that the Ministry’s support payments for Caelum were coming from Harry. Draco probably didn’t want the boys to know the story of Caelum’s conception, being an even worse story than Scorpius’, because of the rape. Maybe Draco had lied to the boys and told them that the money came from his old friend Harry. Or maybe Draco just hadn’t told them anything and Scorpius had assumed Harry was sending it, since he thought that Harry was their father.

            Then the memory Draco had shown Harry of Caelum’s conception came back to Harry. It had led nowhere before, since they couldn’t make out the face and they strongly suspected polyjuice, but what if that wasn’t what the memory showed? What if it really was just a dream that Draco’s subconscious had produce of the real father, to give Draco’s conscious mind a memory to grasp ahold of, to explain the second pregnancy to himself. Maybe the body looked like Harry, because Harry was the father. Maybe the face was blurry, because Harry wasn’t really there. Maybe no one had raped Draco that night.

            Harry knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Draco had been raped by Aescwine, because of the legilimency testimony and because of Aescwine’s confession. But Draco had always maintained that Aescwine hadn’t raped him that night and that on Halloween, there was another man there with him. The negative paternity test had backed up Draco’s claim, but maybe Draco was wrong. Maybe there was no one physically there with Draco that night. That certainly explained why Draco didn’t fight off the man, even though he looked like he could have; if the man wasn’t really there, then he couldn’t have been hurting him the way Harry had always imagined had went along with that memory. Could Caelum have the same father as Scorpius? Might Draco gave dreamed about the one man when the residual magic had come back to him and gotten him pregnant the second time?

            Even if Harry wasn’t the father of either boy, it would still explain why Scorpius had black hair and Draco believed the blond Caelum’s father to also have black hair. Maybe Scorpius got their second father’s black hair, while Caelum got their second father’s green eyes.

            That was all just a pile of speculation. Harry knew of only one way to determine what really happened and that was the paternity potion. He couldn’t just show up and order Draco to surrender a hair sample from himself and each of the children, so he would have to pay Draco a visit and convince Draco to go along with one more test. And while Harry is there, he had some questions about this letter for Draco to answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a big surprise in store for Harry at Malfoy Manor :)  
> On another note, what direction do you all prefer for Harry’s love life? Right now he’s with Ginny, but I have a break-up planned. Right now it’s open, but would you have him end up with Ginny, Draco, or someone else?


	5. Chapter5

Draco Malfoy was outside in the field tending the crops with his wand when Harry Potter apparated to the outskirts of the Malfoy Manor grounds. Harry had been planning to knock on the front door, but he saw Draco working as he approached and thus deviated in the direction of the field.   
It was a large field on the side of the Manor, but it was late fall and most of the crops had already come in. Most of the field was barren and dead looking, but Draco had a warming charm on a small plot of it and seemed to have a winter crop coming along. Between the winter crop and the full sized field clearly used during the normal growing season, it looked large enough to feed an entire family of four for a year and have plenty to sell. Harry knew Draco lived here with his mother and two boys, since Lucius was still in Azkaban, so that made just the four of them.  
As Harry walked, he took the field in and began to think the stories about the Malfoy family evading their taxes might just be true after all. The Malfoy coffers had been confiscated by the ministry for war reparations and half the wizarding population thought the Malfoys must have had a secret stash hidden away somewhere. But Harry had seen the Manor after the Ministry raid and didn’t think a single knut had been missed. And Harry knew that Draco had the two children and no job, so he always took Draco’s side when tax time came around. Tax reports were confidential, but someone always leaked the fact that every year since the war the Malfoys managed to be in the very bottom tax bracket. That always led to rumors of tax evasion and hence Harry’s yearly defense of the Malfoy family.  
Just as Harry was beginning to think Draco was pulling one over on the Ministry by not reporting the sale of crops, he noticed that the large lump on Draco’s hip was in fact a baby. When had Draco had another baby? The Malfoys were never in the paper these days, but Andromeda Tonks was in touch with her sister Narcissa Malfoy and Andy hadn’t mentioned anything. Harry didn’t even know Draco was seeing someone. Last Andy had said, Draco was too scarred over the rape in Ministry custody to date. If Draco was seeing someone, then he must have finally gotten over it.  
Harry was starting to hope that Draco’s life was looking up when he grew close enough to hear the sound of laughter and the excited squeal of children. He turned his head in the direction of the noise and discovered a little clearing by the side of the building that contained what appeared to be three young children. The tallest of the three looked like he wouldn’t make it to Harry’s waist, so he knew all three were quite young; too young to be Draco’s first two. The youngest of the three was toddling along behind the other two, barely stable on his or her wobbly feet.  
There were four young children in all that Harry had never heard mention of. That combined with Draco’s older two children and it was no wonder Draco needed such a large plot of land to feed his family. Why hadn’t Scorpius mentioned the new children in his letter? Why hadn’t Draco ever said anything? Had Scorpius thought that Harry wouldn’t want him and Caelum if he knew Draco had moved on and found someone else? That certainly wasn’t the case, because he and Draco were never romantically involved, but Scorpius wouldn’t know that if he thought Harry was his dad.  
Harry was quite close when Draco finally noticed his approach. Draco finished strengthening the warming charm on the plants, angled down his wand, and looked up at Harry. Draco’s face was blank for a moment, before he settled on an anxious expression.  
“What is it? My father’s not ill, is he? It must be bad if they’ve sent you Potter,” Draco said.  
“No, he’s not ill,” Harry replied, stopping a few feet in front of Draco.  
“You’re not here to deny my request to bring all of the children to visit him for the holidays, are you? I know you lot warned me last year about showing up with so many children, but we’re only allowed to see him twice a year. It’s Christmas; the children want to see their grandfather and he wants to see them. Besides I don’t have anyone to watch the baby; my mother needs to go with us.  
“It’s nothing to do with Lucius,” Harry replied.  
“Then what is it? I haven’t done any of those things people are always accusing me of. Salazar knows I still get so much hate mail that I hardly have to bother chopping down trees for the fire. Everybody has their opinion on what the Malfoy family is up to these days, haven’t they? Only that boss of yours normally doesn’t take them so seriously. He just sends me an owl with the accusation and I reply back with my denial. Do they have some evidence against me this time, or something? It’s not something really bad, is it?”  
“No, Draco, just stop. I’m not here on Ministry business.”  
“Oh, is that so? Then why are you here? You haven’t stopped by to check on us since Cael was a baby.”   
There was a bit of accusation in Draco’s words. Harry began to wonder if perhaps he should have kept checking on the Malfoy family. Draco certainly seemed to have his hands full with six children and no job. They had probably gone through their share of hard times in all of these years. And from the way Draco was talking about not having a sitter for his biannual visits to his father in Azkaban, it didn’t sound like his boyfriend or girlfriend was around. Harry still didn’t know for sure if Draco was gay or straight, but either way, the witch or wizard seemed to have split.  
“Because of this,” Harry said, reaching into the breast pocket of his robes. He pulled out Scorpius’ letter.  
“What is that? The accusation of wrong doing?”  
“No, it’s a letter from your son Scorpius.”  
“Scorp sent you a letter?” Draco asked skeptically. Harry nodded. “He’s always been a big Harry Potter fan; all of the kids are. I suppose it’s a bit of fan mail he’s gone and written you. Why are you here then? Don’t you get that sort of stuff all of the time?”  
“No, not this sort of thing. Actually I’ve never gotten a letter like this before, Draco.”  
“What did he write? I can’t imagine what would have you showing up on my door like this, Potter.”  
“Draco, it says he wants me to be his dad.”  
“What!?!” Draco exclaimed.   
Three little children came running over. The baby in Draco’s arms looked up with large watery green eyes, before letting out a startled wail. Maybe Caelum wasn’t the little green eyed brother Scorpius referred to in the letter. As Harry took in the sight of the four children up close, he could see the resemblance between them and himself, especially the second tallest.  
“Sshh, sorry Carina, Father didn’t mean to shout. Calm down sweetie,” Draco cooed at the baby on his hip.   
“Father?” the oldest asked. He looked from Draco to Harry, back to Draco, and finally settled his gaze on Harry. Now that he was closer, Harry knew it was a boy. He had a short crop of messy black hair and a pair of big blue eyes. He wore dusty threadbare trousers that were patched at the knees and a stained shirt that was patched at the elbows. The boy’s face was spotless and looked in much better shape than the clothes, so Draco was obviously trying to keep him clean.  
Behind the boy was a girl who was half a foot shorter than her brother. She wore a dingy dress that was in better shape than what any of the other three children were wearing, but was still quite clearly old and very well worn. She had shoulder length black hair, far longer than that of the other children. She looked very well cared for and her hair glistened as it fell in loose ringlets around her chubby cheeks that so closely resembled the few baby pictures Harry had of himself. She stared at Harry with a large pair of bright green eyes, just like the baby in Draco’s arms.   
The little one came toddling up behind the older two and peered out at Harry with a second pair of blue eyes. Harry guessed the little blond one was also a boy, because of the short cropped hair and the trousers, but he was so small it was hard to tell. The trousers might just have been handed down from three older brothers; they certainly had enough patches and stains to have gone through four children. This child was the messiest of the four, having grass stains all over himself and even some grass in his golden hair and a dirt smudge on his cheek.  
“Everything is fine Cyg. This is just an old friend from school. Harry, I’d like you to meet my sons Cygnus Vincent Malfoy and Aries Serpens Malfoy.” Draco pointed to the oldest boy and then the little blond toddler. “And these are my daughters Cassiopeia Druella Malfoy and Carina Delphinus Malfoy.” This time Draco pointed to the young girl and then the baby in his arms. “Children, this is Auror Harry Potter.”  
Cygnus let out a gasp of surprise and his jaw dropped, but the other children didn’t recognize the name.  
“Hi,” Harry said and gave the children a wave.  
“Hi,” little Aries replied back right away.  
“Nita meechu,” the girl in the middle said; the really clean one who looked just like Harry.  
“It’s nice to meet you, Cassy,” Draco corrected and Cassy nodded. “Cyg? What do we say when we are introduced to someone?”  
“It’s Harry Potter!” Cyg replied in an excited voice.  
“Yes Cyg, it is Harry Potter, but you are being very rude to him. Tell him hello at least.”  
“Sorry Father. Hullo Harry Potter. How do you do?” Cyg asked, extending his hand out to shake.  
Harry took it and shook hands with the little boy.  
“Very good Cyg. Father needs to talk to Auror Potter, so you take Cassy and Aries back over to play now.”  
“But Father, it’s Harry Potter,” Cyg protested, pointing in Harry’s direction.  
“Yes it is. If you are good you can go inside and tell your older brothers and sister that you met him. But if you keep pointing and gaping like that, Cassy will tell them while you are on a timeout.”  
Cyg lowered his finger and his head at the same time. “Yes Father.”  
“Now go; you know Cassy and Aries look up to you.”  
“Yes Father,” Cyg said and slowly trudged back over to the grass lawn.   
Cassy and Aries followed their brother, both apparently unaware what the big deal was about Harry Potter.  
“Look Draco, I know you’re busy, but I’d like to get this squared away. I didn’t realize you had more kids now. Did you get married?” Harry was still hoping that the other parent hadn’t really abandoned Draco and that it only looked that way.  
Draco sighed before answering. “No. Who would want me with eight children?”  
“Eight? I thought six.”  
“The oldest four are inside with my mother doing their lessons.”  
“On a Saturday?”  
“She took the oldest two to my Aunt Andy’s on Thursday, so they need to make up the missed day.”  
Teddy’s private school had the day off Thursday for parent teacher conferences. Harry had gone to his conference in the morning before work, while Andy had Teddy home for the day. Teddy had been bouncing off the walls with excitement when Andy told him his Malfoy cousins were coming over to play.  
“Oh. Well if you don’t mind my asking…If you didn’t marry, then um, where did they come from? You must be seeing someone or were seeing someone. Look Draco, whoever it is, if they don’t want to make support payments and left you with all of these kids, then I can track him or her down and make them. Normally I don’t handle support cases, but once I know who it is, I can turn it over to the Ministry officials who do.”  
Draco sighed again, obviously not wanting to discuss this subject. “If you must know Potter, I have continued to end up mysteriously pregnant every year. After Scorpius and Caelum came Abraxas and Lyra, before Cygnus over there. And no, I don’t have a second father for any of them.”  
Well that certainly changed things. Eight children and not a known father for one? This had to be a record, but it also explained the part in the letter when Scorpius wrote that they all looked like Harry. Harry knew Caelum didn’t look like him and he hadn’t thought Scorpius looked that much like him. But if there were another six Malfoy children who all looked like him, then maybe Scorpius had it right. Maybe Voldemort really had used Harry’s seed for his heir, to gain the power Voldemort had not. Only Voldemort could be idiotic enough not to realize that the power was nothing more than love and any child was capable of giving that; it was in the nature of children to love.  
“They look like me. Half have green eyes and half black hair,” Harry stated.  
“Now just a minute Potter! I don’t know what makes you think you can come in here and claim one of my children, just because you’re the famous Harry Potter! I may not have much money and way more children than I can afford, but I won’t give up one of them. I don’t care what Scorpius wrote about wanting you to adopt him or whatever it was he wrote. It’s just a child’s fantasy, I’m sure. His life may be hard with so many younger brothers and sisters, but we make do. I’ve got clothes on all their backs and food for their tummies. I won’t go handing any of them off, even to you. I suppose your fiancé cannot have children or something, so you want one of mine. You think I’ve got one to spare, have you? Well I-”  
Harry cut Draco off. “Whoa, wait, no. Who said anything about taking them away from you? I think you’ve done splendid with them; really I do. It’s absolutely incredible that you’re taking care of eight of them with no one but your mum. Ginny and I haven’t even tried for kids yet, but when we do, I know there’s no way I could do so well with so many.”  
Draco’s face softened and a look of confusion replaced his scowl. “Then why are you here?”  
“Um, look, urgh.” Harry flapped the letter in his hand around as he tried to decide where to begin. “Ah, why don’t you just read what he wrote me?” Harry asked, holding out the parchment.  
Draco snatched the letter from Harry and unfurled it. The baby reached out and grabbed the end of the parchment, pulling it towards her little mouth. Draco pulled the parchment away with one hand and moved the baby further back with the other. The baby fussed and Draco looked up at Harry, who was waiting and watching Draco curiously.  
“Here, can you take Carina for a minute?” Draco asked.  
“Yeah, sure,” Harry replied, taking the baby once Draco offered. Baby Carina’s head was covered with a hat, but a few blond wisps peeked out and were caught by the wind. Harry tucked the hairs back inside the hat.  
Draco conjured a stuffed armchair right there in the field in between rows of plants and sat down to read. Harry held Carina and bounced her up and down like he did with his nieces and nephews. Harry wasn’t married to Ginny yet, but he still considered all of the Weasley children his nieces and nephews. There were a lot of them now and he’d had Teddy too, so he knew how to entertain a baby for a bit; he could manage just as long as he wasn’t left alone with one for too long.  
Draco turned a ghostly white as he read the letter and pulled out a chilled flask from his breast pocket. Harry eyed Draco suspiciously, thinking Draco was carrying around liquor while he was supposed to be tending to four very young children.  
“Iced tea; it gets hot working out in the fields,” Draco explained.  
“Right…” Harry drawled, unconvinced.  
“Harry, I haven’t had a drink since I was seventeen. I’ve been pregnant or breast feeding constantly since then. It gets hot out here and I tend to get dehydrated, so my elf always gives me a flask of iced tea to take with me.”  
“Alright. You read the letter then?”  
“Yes. I honestly had no idea he was writing you, let alone writing you something like this. I didn’t put these ideas inside his head, I swear.”  
“You didn’t tell him that I’m his father?”  
“No, I did not.”  
“Then how’d he get this idea?”  
“A childish fantasy I suppose. We all have them, haven’t we? I myself often wish I had a second parent for these kids. I get twenty galleons support a month from the Ministry for Caelum. It would be nice to get that for each of eight children, not to mention someone to keep an eye on them every once in a while. Merlin knows I could really use the help Harry, but I won’t lie to you; I don’t think you’re the missing father.”  
“Then who is? If not me, then who? He’s right; they do look like me.”  
“I don’t know. If I knew that, I’d have this curse lifted long ago and be collecting decent support payments.”  
Rituals could be broken if all of the original participants were gathered and willingly agreed to break the spell. If someone vital to the ritual died, it would automatically break, which meant the second father was still alive. If Draco could find him, then they would be able to lift the enchantment and he’d stop getting pregnant every year.  
“I know the Ministry did extensive testing on Caelum and it wasn’t any of the Aurors listed as being on guard duty, but surely you must have thought about this a lot in the intervening years. These kids must have come from someone; who do you think it could be?”  
“You don’t want to know what I think.”  
“Yes, I do. I know you said Voldemort did this to you, but the paternity test on Scorpius and Caelum both came back negative for Voldemort. He must have messed up the ritual somehow and the children came out as someone else’s instead. Why haven’t we ever found him? If it’s still happening, then he’s still alive. Why not me? Voldemort and I were bound exceedingly tightly while he lived. He had my blood flowing in his veins and I had a piece of his soul lodged inside my head. I had a power he wanted; one that he knew not, but probably thought he could gain by stealing my child away from me. Or what if he drew on the blood he took from me and that somehow made them mine? You have to admit these four look just like me; far more than the first two did. Just look at Carina’s green eyes and tell me she doesn’t look like me? Cassy over there looks even more like me with all that black hair of hers.”  
“Swear to me you will never tell this to another being Harry.”  
“What? Why?”  
“I don’t want this getting back to my children. I don’t want them knowing who they came from.”  
“You think it’s a Death Eater then?”   
Draco didn’t reply, but Harry knew the answer was something like that. “Alright, I swear. My lips are sealed,” Harry promised.  
“The Dark Lord had black hair too, Potter, and green eyes aren’t all that rare. My Grandmother Black has green eyes; they’re common in the Rosier family.”  
“You can’t still think it was him, can you? Not after those tests.”  
“The test didn’t give me the name of anyone else. My mother and father saw the Dark Lord before he changed and they both agree that the children look like they could be his. I think somehow the test came out wrong. Maybe because his body was too corrupted in the end, being made from bits of all those different people…I think he really is the father and the potion couldn’t recognize that foul body as being related to my perfect children.”  
Harry honestly considered the possibility again, despite having so thoroughly ruled it out. But, if it had been Voldemort, the ritual wouldn’t still be holding seven plus years later, not with Voldemort dead. “I saw Voldemort too, before he changed. He had dark eyes. Do any of your children have dark eyes? I’ve only seen grey, blue, and green,” Harry said.  
“No, but just because none of them have his eyes, doesn’t disprove it. None of them have red slit eyes or talk to snakes either, but that’s just because they take after me.”  
“You can’t honestly want Voldemort’s children, can you? I know you don’t worship him like your father did.”  
“I don’t. I can’t stand him.”  
“Then why did you let yourself have eight of these children if you honestly think they are his? He’s a monster.”  
“He is, but he’s never even seen any of them. They won’t be like him.”  
“Draco? You’re evading the question. I know you couldn’t reverse the spell without the father, but you could have done something! You could’ve ripped out your uterus; that would’ve stopped these pregnancies, wouldn’t it? Once the chain is broken, you’d have to take the potion again to restart it. Then when you don’t take the potion, you won’t get pregnant even at the peak of the residual magic.”  
Draco sighed and looked from Harry to his three children playing on the grass. Cyg and Cassy were once more running around in circles. Aries was plopped on his bottom pulling up blades of grass.  
“Draco, have you even tried to stop it?”  
Draco shook his head.  
“Why not? Even if they can’t stop you from getting pregnant once a year, you could have it aborted.” Harry’s voice came out in a whisper, as if he didn’t want the children to hear him; he was still holding baby Carina. “Once you stop breast feeding, the cycle will be broken.”  
Draco was silent such a long time that Harry asked again, “Draco? Why have you given birth to eight kids you think belong to Voldemort?”  
Draco looked at Harry for a few minutes more, before sighing and answering, “We think it’s our punishment, alright? My mother and father and I’ve agreed that these children are karma’s way of paying us back for all the wrong we have done as a family. I mean, look at me, I have more children than the Weasleys and I’m pregnant again! After all of those times I made fun of them… But at least they had two parents and one steady income; I haven’t even got that and this baby will make nine. Merlin, most of their clothes are hand-me-downs from Teddy and the Weasley kids that my Aunt Andromeda sends my mother. It’s a fitting punishment, isn’t it, to be landed in a worse situation than one we so scathingly mocked?”  
“You’re pregnant again?” Harry asked stunned. Somehow, that was the one thing in Draco’s exclamation that rang in his ears.   
Draco nodded. “A few weeks now. It happened just the same as I testified with Caelum.”  
“What was that again? Sorry, it’s been so long.”  
“A black haired man on Halloween night; I can never see his face.”  
“It’s always Halloween?” Harry asked.  
“Yes, does that mean something to you?”  
“Well yes, it’s the night Voldemort first tried to kill me. It’s the night he killed my parents and forever joined our destinies.”  
“And you think because of that, it makes you somehow…” Draco trailed off.  
“I don’t know exactly why or how if it did happen, but it doesn’t hurt to do the test.”  
“Maybe for you, it doesn’t, but I can’t afford the ingredients and I don’t have time to make eight doses of the potion. I have to make teething potion next, then it will be pepper up. We’re always running low on headache cures and fever reducers too.”  
“I’ll buy the ingredients and I’ll brew it,” Harry said and Draco’s eyebrows rose in skepticism. “I’m a decent brewer now; I’ve got to be with my job as an Auror.”  
“Right, because there are just so many times when you are chasing after a dark wizard and you need to brew a potion to catch him.”  
“You’d be surprised.”  
“Try me.”  
“There was this one time we were chasing this dark wizard who was brewing these horrible potions. Every time we got near him, he’d lob a vial of the stuff at our heads! We’d have to scramble and set up an antidote potion before one of our own died and then go after him again. And we couldn’t take the victim to St. Mungo’s, or risk blowing our location, so we had to brew ourselves. Only he had a whole stockpile of hundreds of different poisonous potions and we never knew which one we were going to get hit with next. Ron got hit with this-”  
Draco interrupted. “Alright, fine, I believe you. It won’t harm me to give you a few hairs for your test. It’s not like I have to drink the stuff.”  
“Great! Um, here’s your kid. I’ll owl you when it’s ready.” Harry handed Carina back to Draco.  
“You do that.”  
“Draco, can I ask you something more before I go?”  
“You might as well, since you seem to be convinced I’m magically pregnant by you, even though we’ve never done anything like that.”  
“Why didn’t I know you had all of these children? I just saw your aunt last weekend and she never said anything. And in Scorpius’ letter too, he never mentioned that there were another six kids to explain. I’d assumed he was writing only about him and Cael.”  
“If you must know, I didn’t want anyone to know. It’s embarrassing, alright?” Draco had little left to him, but he still had his pride.  
“What? So no one knows, not even your aunt?”  
“No, she doesn’t know. Mother, Scorpius, and Cael know not to mention that when they go out. Sometimes they slip and mention one of the others, but Mother passes the other names off as being my old school friends’ kids. That’s who she says most of the used clothes and toys are for, so I don’t have to admit I have more kids than I can afford. If I can’t have the life I envisioned for myself, I can at least let people think I do.”  
“So what, you never take the younger six out? You never let yourself be seen pregnant either?”  
“Now don’t look at me like I’m locking them away like some monster! I never leave, period, unless it’s to visit my father. And the younger six are too little to go out with my mother without me; she’s old and they’re far too much work for her. People will find out eventually, but while they are still young, I’d rather everyone didn’t know my business.”  
“So when Cael was a baby and you stopped responding to my letters for months?”  
“I was pregnant with Abraxas, yes, and I didn’t want you to know it was happening again. In hindsight, I would have let you in and told you, just for some extra help. But I didn’t know then that it would keep happening and I’d end up with eight and a ninth on the way; I’m still naive enough to hope every Halloween that this is the year the enchantment breaks, the year   
I don’t get visited by the faceless raven-haired wizard, and the year I’m finally not pregnant. Back when it was only three children, my mother and I could take care of them by ourselves and the situation wasn’t nearly as tight.”  
“Thank you for telling me that; I appreciate your honesty. And Draco, I want to help you. Even if they aren’t mine, I still want to help.”  
“There was a time when I would say I didn’t need your charity, Harry, but having eight pairs of eyes look up at me with need, I will gladly take whatever I can get.”  
After the rape, Draco had been broken, but in some ways his current situation was worse. He’d failed his children and was continuing to fail them; it was enough to shatter him. His pride, the only thing he had left besides the Manor, had a gaping chasm torn into it when it came to his children. He still couldn’t bring himself to beg or even ask for help, but he’d take it once offered.  
“What do you need? Food, clothes, nappies?” Harry asked.  
“Clothes mostly, but toys and potions ingredients too. I replicate each toy they get a dozen times or more, but they break or blow up so quickly. And the little ones can never keep track of anything.”  
“What sizes for the clothes?”  
“One of each. Whatever you do, please treat them all equally. I can’t afford to buy the rest whatever you buy one.”  
“Alright. What toys do they already have? Brooms and bikes, I bet.”  
“No.”  
“No? Andy said she bought bikes for your boys a few years back.”  
“Long since too small for Scorp and Cael; they’re used by Brax and Ly now, but they’re in horrible shape.”  
“Right…what do they like?”  
“Whenever my mother and I buy toys, we always buy things they can play together or all use, like books, blocks, and balls. And Ly is really into dolls, so I buy her a doll every year.”  
“So none of that then,” Harry replied. Draco raised an eyebrow questioningly and Harry hastened to explain himself. “I don’t want to get them ordinary gifts now, do I? You heard Cyg, I’m Harry Potter. I’ve got to get them something fun, like finger paint and drum sets.” Teddy always loved when he gave his godson something really loud or messy.  
“Only if you’re taking them to your place to use them,” Draco warned.  
“Come on, what’s a little paint going to harm?”  
“Scorp had a paint set once; Brax ate quite a bit of it.”  
“Brat?” Harry asked.  
“No, Brax. It’s short for Abraxas.”  
“Right, so no paint. Oh I know; Teddy had this little toy piano he used to love when he was little.”  
“Harry, I have eight of them; the noise that would create would require an entire vat of headache tonic.”  
“Oh…so I’ll just have to get a vat of headache tonic to go along with the toys,” Harry replied with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drarry won, hands down! This still won’t be a romance, but will slowly build towards a Drarry pairing. We’ll see Ginny in the next chapter…Harry is going to start trying to make things right both with Ginny and for the children.
> 
> Did the extra six kids surprise you? I had to really scrape the name barrel with this story, along with using every hair and eye color combination. I thought about not having so many kids, but I wanted Scorpius to be old enough to write that letter and with the nature of the curse, there has to be a new child each year.


	6. Chapter6

    The first thing Harry did when he left Malfoy Manor was head straight to the apothecary and purchase enough ingredients to make an entire vat of paternity potion. His fame had died down since the war, not entirely mind you, but enough that he could be seen in the wizarding world without inciting a mob to swarm him and ask for pictures and autographs. Therefore he was able to apparate in and out quickly and return to Grimmauld Place to start brewing.

    Harry finished the first step in the paternity potion just an hour before Ginny was due home. He left the potion with an auto-stir charm on and went to owl Ron and Hermione. He asked his friends to come over, because he had news to tell and his date night with Ginny would have to be canceled, or at least pushed back. Ginny was understanding though, so he was sure she’d be okay with it, given the enormity of the crisis that had come up today.

    This morning had started out as such a normal day until Harry had received Scorpius’ letter. Even after he’d digested the alarming news, he still thought everything would turn out fine, because he had only known about Malfoy’s oldest two kids. Even if he’d really had two kids plus Teddy, that still only made three kids. With his wealth, he could support all three boys, marry Ginny, and still afford to have a child of their own. But Malfoy had eight and a half kids, not two, and with Teddy, that would soon make ten kids. He had no right to marry anyone, let alone have more children, when he already had ten kids.

    Harry was relieved when Hermione flooed straight over without Ron, because it gave him a chance to explain things to her, before he told Ron and Ginny. He really needed some advice on how much to tell them. He was going to start helping Malfoy out regardless, but should he tell Ginny about the eight and a half kids? Should he postpone the wedding, pending the paternity results? It would take him a month to brew and the wedding wasn’t to be until next year, but he didn’t see how he could concentrate on planning anything right now when he needed to put all of his effort into figuring out how to stop Malfoy from getting pregnant every year.

    And so Harry and Hermione sat at the wooden table in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place and talked. Harry clutched a steaming mug of tea as he showed Hermione the letter and revealed what he had learned from his visit to Malfoy Manor.

    “So what should I do?” Harry asked Hermione.

    “Well you’ll have to sort this out first, naturally. You can’t start planning a wedding with Ginny before you know. Blimey Harry, you didn’t even make it inside their house; you’ve no idea, really, how much they need. You could get inside and find they need absolutely everything, times nine. If that’s the case, you won’t be able to afford to have the wedding next year.”

    “First, I don’t think that’s the case. Their clothes were rags, but they looked like Draco was trying really hard. I bet when I get inside he’s got a line of beds in each room. I know they all need new clothes and he made it sound like their toys were all no good, but as long as he’s got the basics, it won’t be too hard to fill in the wardrobe and buy a few hundred galleons worth of toys. I’m thinking a playground set, definitely, for Christmas.”

    “Alright, but what if they’re yours? They’ll be off to Hogwarts before you know it and you’ll have to have them all living at the same level as yourself; it would be wrong to ask your children to live lower than you.”

    “I know. I was wondering if I could even go through with marrying Ginny if that’s the case. We’ve talked about having kids soon and I can’t rightfully have one with Ginny, if I’ve got nine with Malfoy and Teddy. And we haven’t even broken the ritual or figured out how Voldemort did it yet…”

    “Harry, you’re getting ahead of yourself. We won’t be able to come up with a way to break the ritual until after we know if they are yours or not. If they are, it should be simple enough to break it with a counter ritual. If they aren’t, then it will be much more challenging and we’ll deal with that when it comes. As for how Voldemort did it, we don’t know if he did do it. If the children aren’t yours, then we don’t have to answer that question. Now just take a sip of tea, breathe, and relax a minute. We need to think.”

    Harry did as instructed. “You’re right, thanks Hermione,” he said slightly more calmly.

    “Now as for Ginny wanting children, I honestly always thought she only wanted them because you wanted them. I think it’s possible that once she knows you’ve got more than enough, she’ll be fine with not having any of her own.”

    “Really? You thought that? I always thought it was the opposite and she really wanted them.”

    “I know she likes them, yes, but she’s told me several times now that she’s not looking forward to having to give up her career for them. This way, she won’t have to.”

    “So you think I should tell her then? I’d hate to keep secrets from her and Ron, but it is a lot to take in.”

    “No, I don’t think you should tell her all of it. Tell her you got a letter from Scorpius, but for Merlin’s sake Harry, don’t let her read it. It sounds like the boy knows you and Draco have been having this illicit affair for years. And nine kids? That’s a bit much without mentioning that you think they’re yours. It’s enough to tell her how bad off the Malfoys are and that Draco and the kids really need your help. She’ll understand pushing back the wedding planning for a month until you can brew the paternity potion. That way, if all this worry turns out to be for naught, you never have to deal with telling her. If they are yours, then she’ll have had a month to absorb the news that there are nine of them. The added tidbit that they’re yours will go down much more smoothly.”

    “The paternity potion Hermione! Ginny lives with me and it takes a month to brew; she’s bound to notice and ask questions! And she’ll be here within ten minutes! What am I going to do? You have to help me hide it!”

    “Calm down Harry; tell her you’re brewing it for Malfoy. You’re reopening the case in your spare time, to try to find out who the father is. You’ve tracked down new Death Eater suspects, hence you need the potion. If you find the father, then you can stop the ritual and make the bastard pay child support every month.”

    “But we’ve rounded up all of the Death Eaters!”

    “What about the baby Death Eaters, like Malfoy. Say you think it’s someone our age and you want to test all of Malfoy’s friends.”

    “Right, good thinking Hermione,” Harry said. “Thank you so much for helping me sort this out; you’re a life savior.”

    So Harry didn’t tell Ginny and Ron that night about the possibility that he was the father. Ron couldn’t be told, because as Ginny’s brother, he was loyal to her. Harry didn’t want to put Ron in a situation where he had to choose between his sister and his best mate, so he decided to wait on telling Ron until he told Ginny; until he knew for certain.

    Ginny and Ron agreed that they needed to help Draco.

    Ron promised to help Harry track down more potential fathers and test every wizard in the magical world, if it came to that. “No one, not even Malfoy, deserves to pop out another Death Eater spawn every year without control of it,” Ron said.

    Ginny agreed to help with putting together toys and clothes for the children. Molly would make them all sweaters, of course, and Ginny would hit up her sister-in-laws and various cousins for fresh hand-me-downs from their kids. Ginny knew all of the best second hand shops and anything they didn’t have to buy new, meant more they could buy. Nine wardrobes were bound to be expensive, even with used pajamas, underpants, and play clothes.

    Harry did want to get each child several brand new outfits, so that they’d have something new for once, but no one was going to see pajamas and play clothes, so they didn’t matter. He remembered how it felt to always have to wear Dudley’s old clothes and never have anything new for himself, so he was not about to build their entire wardrobes with hand-me-downs. Besides, if he wanted Draco to come out to the wizarding world with the children, he would have to buy the kids clothes befitting a Malfoy; at least one really nice set of dress robes.

    Hermione, for her part, agreed to research male pregnancy rituals and see if she could find a way to reverse it. She didn’t, however, mention that she would be researching both the possibility that they knew the second father and that they didn’t.

    Harry would fund the operation, brew the potion, and try to narrow down the list of candidates. He didn’t tell Ginny, but he was also planning on buying a new bicycle for each child and taking the gifts over to Malfoy Manor. He wanted to meet the older four children, see what the inside of the house was like, and help Draco out a bit. He was certain that even if it was only for a few hours, Draco and or Narcissa could use a break. And next weekend he had Teddy anyway, so it was the perfect time to stop by.

    Between his usual Auror duties and brewing the potion in his spare time, Harry kept busy during the week. Before he knew it, it was Saturday morning and he was picking Teddy up from Andy’s place. He hadn’t had a chance to buy the gifts, so he took Teddy to the toy store to help him.

    “Now Teddy, remember, we’re here to buy toys for children that are far less fortunate than yourself, not for you. We need to find bikes that Scorpius, Caelum, and their three little brothers and two little sisters will like,” Harry reminded Teddy as they approached the store.

    “And the baby too; we can’t forget the baby and only get bikes for the big kids,” Teddy said importantly.

    “You’re right, but we can’t get the baby a bike. We’ll have to find a rocking horse or something else for a baby.” Come to think of it, Harry didn’t even know if Carina was old enough for a rocking horse. Perhaps an infant swing would be better.

    Teddy was really good about picking out the toys for the other kids; Harry was surprised that Teddy didn’t seem to be jealous at all. But then Teddy had been so shocked when Harry had first picked the boy up and explained the situation. Teddy was friends with Scorpius and Caelum and he never imagined they were hiding all those little brothers and sisters.

    “Scorp and Cael are sooooo lucky,” Teddy said as they went to the check-out counter with five bicycles, two tricycles, and a large baby toy. It was a muggle store and the muggles were giving them strange looks, but Harry didn’t want to be seen buying so many bikes in the wizarding world, because he didn’t want to explain who they were for.

    “Now remember Teddy, I told you they aren’t lucky, because they’re really poor right now,” Harry explained.

    “I know, but Harry, they got all those brothers and sisters to play with whene’er they wan’! I wish I had a brother. I thought Scorp had it good gettin’ Cael ‘round before, but now he’s got ano’er six kids to play wi’ and I’m stuck an only child.” Teddy let out a put upon sigh, like he had it bad.

    “If you had seven little brothers and sisters you’d wish to be an only child like you.”

    “I doub’ it. I’d much ra’er have the friends! And they’re littler, so they got to look up to him and do what he says! He gets to be the boss. I ne’er get to be the boss of anyone.”

    “Tell you what Teddy, if you’re good today and help out, then I’ll see about bringing you back to the Manor every two weeks to play with them for a few hours. But that means that no matter how bad they turn out to have it, even if they’re sleeping on the floor and dressed in rags, you can’t make them feel bad about it.”

    “You really thin’ it’s that bad? Great Aunt Cissy’s so nice; I don’t thin’ she trea’s ‘em like that, Harry.”

    “I know she’s nice, but they really have no money. I don’t think it’ll be that bad, but I don’t think they’ll have any toys. Your Cousin Draco had four kids with him when I saw him and not one had a single toy, not even the baby.”

    “Right, but we’re bringin’ these toys, so they’ll be happy.” Teddy smiled brightly, clearly pleased that he was helping other kids.

    “But whatever they don’t have, I don’t want you to mention it. No, ‘How come you don’t have a broom?’ or ‘Why do your clothes look so old?’ Got it?”

    “But we’re bringin’ ‘em all new clothes! You said we’ve got that bag Ginny made. They can wear their new stuff, can’t they?”

    Harry couldn’t remember the last time he was this proud of Teddy. Teddy was a good kid and Harry was glad they’d raised him to be so caring towards other people. And Teddy really only ever saw Scorpius and Caelum a few times a year!

    “That’s a great idea Teddy; they can change when we get there,” Harry agreed.

    “And then we get to all ride bikes toge’er. We’re bringin’ my bike, aren’t we?”

    “Excuse me sir, do you want the warrantees on any of your purchases? You can buy a warrantee for only an extra ten pounds,” the muggle sales lady interrupted.

    Harry was rather certain that Draco wouldn’t know what a warrantee was or know how to get back to this muggle store, even if Harry told him. And Draco and Narcissa both had wands, so there was no need for one.

    “No thank you, mam,” Harry replied, before turning back to his godson. “Yes Teddy, I’ve got it with the clothes ready to go. But you know Scorpius and Caelum haven’t had bikes in years, so they probably won’t know how to ride them. I don’t want you making them feel jealous by mentioning that you’ve had yours all along and I definitely don’t want you bringing up that new broomstick I got you for your birthday last year.”

    “They ride my broomstick! Last week, when they came wi’ Great Aunt Cissy!”

    “Shhs, not so loud around the muggles Teddy. And alright, you can mention it if they bring it up.”

    “Why would they be jea’ous of my old bike, when they all get these grea’ new ones?”

    “Because you’ve had one all along and know how to ride it. They haven’t.”

    Teddy rolled his eyes, as if to complain about grown-ups.

    The muggle cashier wanted Harry’s attention again, so he turned away from Teddy to settle his bill. A young muggle stock boy loaded the bikes up onto a large palette and pushed them out to Harry’s car in the parking lot. It wasn’t really Harry’s car, but he’d borrowed it from a friend at work this morning for the occasion. His friend had three children, hence the need for a car to transport them all. It was only a four door sedan with an average sized trunk, so there was no way the bikes would all fit without magic, but it was better than a broom and the only one he could get.

    The stock boy looked at Harry strangely and said, “All this isn’t gonna fit in that tiny trunk, innit?”

    “No trouble, I think I can manage. My girlfriend should be by any minute now with her truck; she’ll get whatever doesn’t fit and I’ll return the pallet inside when I’m done,” Harry lied.

    The muggle shrugged and trudged back inside the store, leaving Harry to shrink the bikes and stuff them all in the trunk. It wasn’t long before they were on their way back to Grimmauld Place. From there they grabbed Teddy’s bike and the bag full of used clothes and flooed over to Malfoy Manor.

    Harry, laden with shrunken gifts, stepped out of the floo into a purple room with diamond paneled windows, which was teaming with children. Teddy followed behind Harry, carrying the rest of the gifts.

    “Wow!” Teddy exclaimed, looking at all of the children running back and forth.

    Besides the children, the large Malfoy drawing room was quite as empty as Harry had last seen it. He’d thought for sure Draco and Narcissa would have gotten all new furniture by now, but they apparently hadn’t, for this room at least. And Harry had to admit, it made a good place to play tag the way it was, without the furniture. There was probably furniture upstairs.

    All at once, the five oldest Malfoy children stopped running and screaming. They paused and stared at Harry and Teddy in the floo.

    “It’s Harry Potter! I’s tol’ ya!” little Cygnus exclaimed, pointing at Harry. Cygnus was the youngest in this group, because the youngest three Malfoy children and the two Malfoy adults were nowhere in sight.

    “What’s going on? Why is it so quiet in here? I know you are up to something when you are quiet,” Narcissa’s voice called. And then a few seconds later, Narcissa stepped through the doorway with little Aries in her arms and young Cassy at her heals. “Harry, Teddy we weren’t expecting you! Draco told me he told you—and it is about time he told someone—but I had no idea to expect you back so soon. Come in, Teddy is welcome to play tag with my grandchildren. I’m just cleaning up Aries and Cassy. Carina is down for a nap, so if you hear the monitoring charms go off, let me know. Draco is in his potions lab, but he should be along in an hour or so.”

    “Thanks Lady Malfoy. Um, I brought some gently worn clothes for the kids and Teddy helped me pick out some B-I-K-Es for the kids. Maybe I can put them down somewhere for when Draco finishes?” Harry asked.

    “Bikes! Which kid gets a bike?” Scorpius asked loudly.

    “The cat is out of the bag now, I’m afraid. You might as well tell them,” Narcissa said with a smile.

    “All of you, except for Carina; I got her something else to play with, but I want you to wait for your father. I brought some clothes we could start with,” Harry offered.

    “No one’s gonna wan’ clothes when they’ve got a new bike, Harry,” Teddy said rolling his eyes.

    “You’ve got us clothes?” a girl with messy black hair asked. She was older than Cassy, so she must’ve been Draco’s oldest girl. She had Draco’s grey eyes and was dressed in clothes Harry distinctly recalled seeing on Bill and Fleur’s daughter Victoire before. They still looked clean and only slightly threadbare. Harry looked from her to Cassy and then back to the older girl. Cassy’s hair was perfect again and her clothes were almost as nice as the older girl’s, but Harry definitely thought Cassy’s clothes had been through first Victoire, then the oldest girl, and then little Cassy. Poor little Carina was probably wearing clothes that had been through them all.

    “Don’t be rude Lyra; introduce yourself to Auror Harry Potter,” Narcissa chastised.

    “Um, yes. I’m Lyra Narcissa Malfoy. It’s a pleasure to meet your ‘quaintance,” Lyra said.

    “I’m Scorpius Draco Malfoy. I wrote you that letter, which I’m sorry for sir. I know I shouldn’t have done it. You don’t need to worry about us; we’re fine,” Scorpius said, stepping forward. Scorpius looked a bit like Harry had remembered, with blue eyes and black hair, but the boy had changed a lot. He was tall and skinny, taller than Teddy, although skinnier than Teddy too and clearly wearing Teddy’s old hand-me-downs; Harry had bought Teddy that shirt at the circus last year. The height reminded Harry of Draco, but the face was all Harry. Harry didn’t see how Draco and everyone else had looked at the boy and not known immediately. Well the resemblance wasn’t as exact as with little Cassy, because Harry still thought out of all of them, Cassy looked the most like him, but Scorpius still clearly took after Harry when it came to facial features.

    “I’m glad you did Scorpius. Your father and I used to be friends and I was hoping we could start our friendship up again, that’s why I brought my godson Teddy over to play,” Harry replied.

    Scorpius nodded, and a little blond haired grey eyed Draco look-a-like stepped forward, his hair slightly tousled. “I’m Caelum Lucius Malfoy. It’s nice to meet you sir,” he said. Caelum was tall and thin too. Harry thought the boy was almost equal in height with Teddy, although an inch, at least, shorter than Scorpius. Caelum didn’t look as grotesquely thin as Scorpius, but was still obviously thinner than Teddy. Harry thought that the clothes Caelum was wearing had also been Teddy’s only last year. Were two of Draco’s boys sharing the same year’s worth of hand-me-down from just his one godson? Apparently so.

    “I’m Abraxas Hyperion Malfoy. How do you do?” the final child asked. He had perfectly styled blond hair and Harry’s green eyes. He looked to be between Caelum and Lyra in age. He was several inches shorter than Teddy and wearing very well worn and stained clothes that had been Teddy’s two years ago. This boy’s hair was as flat as Draco’s and probably the most nicely styled in the bunch, as if he had just combed it.

    “Hi!” Aries called, reaching out for Harry. Aries was absolutely filthy today with bits of food in his hair and all over his clothes. His face was red, like Narcissa had just finished wiping it, but his hair lay neatly in position, despite the food.

    “No Aries, you’re taking a bath before you go play. You too Cassy, come on, let’s get back to our washing up,” Narcissa said. “You can set the bikes on the front porch, Harry. The children won’t touch them until Draco finishes his work, will they?”

    Cassy didn’t look as bad as Aries, but her face was smudged and there was a large red stain down here threadbare shirt.

    Harry actually began to count himself lucky that he had gotten Dudley’s hand-me-downs directly after his cousin; his clothes hadn’t been made to pass through three or four other children before making their way to him.

    There were murmured comments from the Malfoy children at their grandmother’s words, but a chorus of, “Yes Grandmother,” quickly dominated.

    “Here, I’ll show you the way,” Scorpius said, directing Harry and Teddy towards the parlor and from there, through the front door to the porch.

    The parlor contained two old beat up looking bicycles in the smallest and second smallest size. They were the size he had gotten for Cygnus and Lyra, although Draco had said Lyra and Abraxas still rode these old things. Harry thought that if he hadn’t turned up now with these new bikes, the original two would eventually make their way through all of Draco’s children, until they fell apart into dust. They had given Teddy’s old bike this size away ages ago.

    “Teddy, why don’t you take the bag of clothes and help your cousins figure out who gets what. Ginny bundled them and labeled them,” Harry said, because he wanted to speak to Scorpius alone.

    “Okay,” Teddy agreed and waited for Harry to enlarge the bag back to normal size.

    With two outfits for each of eight children, the bag was large and Teddy struggled to carry it inside the Manor. Harry made a show of unshrinking the bikes, including Teddy’s old one. Scorpius helped line them up and arrange them in order.

    “You’ve gotten Cael, Brax, and I all big boy bikes. Whose is which?” Scorpius asked as the front door closed.

    “It doesn’t matter to me; Teddy just said these were the three coolest looking ones. But Scorpius, I wanted to talk to you about your letter alone, before we go back inside,” Harry said.

    “I’m sorry. My father told me that you weren’ together and I was jumping to conqusions. I shouldn’t have written it and I shouldn’t have taken the parchmen’ without asking or used the quill. Those are my father’s things to write back his denial of aksations to the Aurors, he told me. I shouldn’t‘ve wasted them,” Scorpius explained.

    “Well that is between you and him Scorpius. I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch with your father. I honestly had no idea things were this bad for your family; Merlin, I thought he only had you two boys!”

    “Cael and I aren’t s’pposed to mention Brax and the others when our grandmother takes us out.”

    “Yes, I know that now. Might I ask you to keep another secret? I know you already have a lot of secrets to keep, but I haven’t told Teddy you thought I was your dad.”

    “Oh, I’m already s‘pposed to keep that to myself! My father said I’m not to go ‘round repeating my aksations when he’s got enough already. Like I said, I’m real sorry, sir.”

    “You can call me Harry. I want to bring Teddy around twice a month on Saturday mornings if your father will let me. I’m going to start helping out again, like I did when you were little. Your father didn’t come out of the war well and I helped him get back on his feet when he’d just had you and Caelum. I’ve tried for years to find out who your other father is, so I will take your suggestion and test myself. I’m making the potion now. You’re right, you do look like me. Cassy does too.”

    “I know, right? I keep telling Cael that, but he never listens. I told my father that when he grounded me for writing the letter, but he didn’t listen either. He said that it was the Dark Lord and some dead dark wizard named Tom who did it and to leave you alone.”

    “Tom did look a lot like me. He and I had a lot in common actually—we were both orphans with black hair and grew up alone with no one to love us—but he went one way when he grew up and I went the other. Believe it or not Scorpius, but I only had hand-me-down clothes from my cousin Dudley and old broken toys my whole life. It wasn’t until I went to Hogwarts that I ever had anything new for my own.”

    “Like me!”

    “Not exactly, but that is why I want to help you and your brothers and sisters, because I don’t want you going through that. But you’re already better off, because you’ve got a father and a grandmother who love you very much and would do anything they could for you. Neither Tom nor I ever had that.”

    “Oh, I know, my father is wonn’erful. He loves us all and he does what he can.”

    “Yes, he does seem to do that.”

    “He has a lot on his plate without me being ungra’eful, I know. He’s got the aksations all the time and the howlers and he’s pregnant again. He’s tired a lot this time of year and I know I should help out more and not cause problems.”

    “What do you know about accusations and howlers?” Harry asked curiously. He knew what was said around the Ministry, but what was reaching Draco at home?

    “It’s just nonsense from the war with my grandfather being a conveded Death Eater. They send mean, nasty letters to my father, because they can’t send them to prison. My father takes us there to visit Grandfather Lucius, you know.”

    “He told me, but he didn’t tell me he had a problem with howlers.”

    “Well we don’t get more than one a month, honest, but they really upset the little-uns when they come. Last time Aries wailed for like an hour after!”

    “Alright, well why don’t you tell me more about you and your brothers. We really should split up the bikes by favorite color. What are your favorite colors?” Harry asked, leading Scorpius onto a more kid friendly topic.

    The two of them sorted out the bikes by favorite color and size, before going back inside. Teddy was already passing out the last of the clothes to Narcissa, with the older children all having disappeared somewhere to change.

    “These are really nice Teddy. I’ll change Cassy and Aries into them right now,” Narcissa was saying.

    “Thanks Great Aun’ Cissy. Harry said Ginny went special to get the small ones for the new baby and the old baby. She’s got a cousin with little kids. The other stuff is jus’ from me and my Weasley cousins,” Teddy explained with a shrug.

    “Teddy, we’re back; you can give Scorpius his clothes now,” Harry said, stepping up to Teddy and squeezing his shoulder.

    “I really ‘preciate this Teddy,” Scorpius said.

    “Oh yeah, sure. Your brothers all went through that door over there by the fireplace. Your sister is in the loo; girls. Victoire is like that too; always in there doin’ her hair and lookin’ at herself in the mirror.”

    Scorpius snickered. “Sounds like Brax, if you ask me. His hair already lays flat, so why’s he spend so much time on it? I swear he even brushes Ly’s hair almost every day. She needs it, because her hair’s like mine and doesn’t lie right. Girls are s‘pposed to have long pretty hair my father says, but Ly’s isn’t pretty, just long. She’s always saying it’s too much work and not fair Brax, Cael, Cassy, and Carina got the good hair.”

    While the boys talked, Narcissa dressed Cassy and Aries, who had been wrapped in nothing but towels after their bath. Cassy straightened her dress herself after Narcissa pulled it over the girl’s head, but Narcissa still had her hands full with dressing Aries when the monitoring charm went off.

    “That’ll be Carina. Do me a favor Harry and finish dressing Aries, so I can get the baby?” Narcissa asked.

    Harry agreed and Narcissa handed Aries over to Harry.

    “He hobeless,” Cassy said, pointing at Aries.

    “That’s not nice Cassy. If you’re mean again it’ll be a timeout,” Scorpius warned his little sister.

    “Sorry Ries,” Cassy said and flopped down to put on her shoes.

    Harry dressed Aries, struggling with the squirming toddler. He couldn’t remember a time when Teddy had been so difficult to dress, unless Teddy had been throwing a tantrum, but Aries didn’t seem to be purposefully causing trouble at all. Aries just kept randomly getting up to walk away, with only one leg in his trousers and the like. Finally Harry got Aries dressed, right before Narcissa came down with baby Carina, already dressed in the new clothes. Carina had blond curls that looked as perfectly coiffed as Cassy’s, now that Carina wasn’t wearing a hat.

    The boys came out of the side room first and all thanked Harry profusely for the new clothes, especially little Cyg, who acted like he had never had such nice clothes before, even though they were still second-hand.

    Lyra came out of the bathroom then, crying that the brush had gotten stuck in her hair again. Harry thought Narcissa would handle that, but to his surprise, little Brax stepped forward and fixed it. Brax sat Lyra down on the floor and took over the brush, making his sister’s messy black hair look somewhat decent.

    Brax, Cyg, and Cassy started running around the room again and Harry began to think of this room as the tag-you’re-it room, because those were primarily the words he kept hearing in here. While the children played, talked, and brushed each other’s hair, Harry pulled out Carina’s gift and started assembling it in the hallway off to the side of the room. Harry was just getting used to the chaos of having nine children all in one room while he tried to assemble a complex contraption when Draco came in.

    Draco took baby Carina from his mother, kissing the baby on the head, before nodding to Harry. Draco sat down on the floor next to Harry, pulling up his shirt, and started nursing Carina right there. Well Harry supposed Draco was used to that sort of thing with eight children and Harry remembered back when it had been Scorpius and then Cael Draco was nursing. He looked away, back to the toy.

    “What do you have there, Harry?” Draco asked.

    “It’s some sort of baby toy. I got the rest of your kids bikes and the muggle at the shop recommended this for Carina. Now I remember why I hate buying muggle assembly required things; I can never remember that blasted screwdriver charm,” Harry answered, fitting two colorful plastic pieces together and tapping it with his wand. Yet again, the charm failed, leaving the screw definitely not screwed in.

    “A blast-ended skrewt charm? If you think you are going to turn into Hagrid around my children, then you are mistaken. Just because I have too many of them, doesn’t mean I will agree to something so dangerous. I can’t afford the hospital bills for any of them besides Caelum. Luckily for me it is always Cael who needs medical attention. Did you know that when Scorpius was four he had the bright idea to take Cael and Brax tree climbing? Scorp and Brax were regular little monkeys, but Cael reckoned he really was a monkey and tried to jump to the next tree. He fell and broke his arm. The only one to ever break a bone, and lucky for me it was the only one with medical insurance paid by the Ministry,” Draco said.

    “Not a blast-ended skrewt, it’s a muggle thing. You’ll see it’s safe for babies when I get it together.”

    “Alright, and what other muggle thing did you say you got the other kids? I didn’t hear with all this screaming.”

    Teddy, Scorp, Cael, and Lyra had all rejoined the tag session, which was louder than ever. Harry had been worried for the safety of Cassy and Aries at first, but Draco’s older children seemed to be good about avoiding collisions with their youngest siblings. Harry just hoped Teddy was as careful.

    “Bikes,” Harry repeated.

    “Bikes? Seriously Potter? I hope you at least got them second-hand.”

    “No, the clothes I brought are all second-hand, but Teddy and I bought the bikes new this morning. They’re waiting outside. Your mum said they couldn’t have them until you were done brewing your potion.”

    “You brought them clothes too?” Draco’s tone sounded incredulous.

    “What’s wrong? I got all of the gifts equal, just like you said, even for the baby.”

    “What’s wrong is that it’s Christmas in two weeks and I can’t even hope to compete with bikes and new clothes. If I had known you were going to spend so much money, I would have asked for beds! That’s what I’ve been saving up for; I’ve got them all new mattresses, but I’ve no hope of getting the frames before their birthdays.”

    “They need new beds?” Harry asked, looking up from the toy. “Why didn’t you tell me that last week instead of clothes and toys?”

    “Because I didn’t think you were going to go all out. I thought you’d get a one galleon toy for each and plenty of new clothes. Please tell me you didn’t just get them one outfit each and waste the rest of the money on bikes. I know you are Harry Potter, but that’s extravagant, even for you.”

    “Two, actually, and all of them hand-me-downs Ginny gathered up for me. We already talked about it though, and she’s getting more clothes. We’re going to get them a whole wardrobe each, although not new. She’s still gathering the pieces. You said the gifts have to be equal, so she’s saving the rest until she’s got stuff for the other kids too. She’s got loads for Lyra, Cassy, Carina, and Aries, apparently, but she’s having more difficulty with the others. Andy’s already given you almost all of Teddy’s old clothes and he’s the only one we know old enough to give clothes to your oldest three boys. And none of the Weasleys have a boy Cyg’s age, so he’s hard too. They all had girls first and second too. But you don’t need to worry, because she’s going to hit the consignment shops to fill in the gaps.”

    “Alright, thanks. And you don’t need to worry about Scorp and Cael; they have all the hand-me-downs my aunt just gave me in September. She buys him an entire new wardrobe every school year, can you believe it?”

    “Yes; I bet your parents did the same for you when you were his age.”

    “Yes, they did, but things were different then. Now I can’t imagine having that much money. I’m trying to barter for the frame for one bed, so I can duplicate it into six or seven beds. I already duplicated the one mattress I bought ten times, just so I won’t have to worry about getting another one in a good long while.”

    “What happened to their old beds, Draco?”

    “Five of them were still sleeping in that old toddler bed you bought me for Scorpius. I had duplicated it five times, which weakens it, and then it wasn’t that well made to begin with. I noticed that, with the muggle furniture you bought me: it’s all cheap and doesn’t hold up to duplication like wizarding furniture does. Not that I’m not grateful, I am, because Merlin knows those toddler beds lasted me a lot of children through a lot of years.”

    “Alright, well how about I buy them one bed frame for Christmas from a wizarding store, and you duplicate it however many times you want.”

    “Alright, deal. I can’t believe you are coming to my rescue again.”

    “I’m happy to help.”

    “You do know that I am never going to be able to top this Christmas, if they all get new clothes, bikes, and beds. They are going to be so spoiled after this that their birthdays will be an utter let down.”

    “Um, I was thinking of getting a playground set too. You know, because it’s something they can all play with? You said you didn’t want paint or instruments and a playground is the one thing I’ve always wanted to buy Teddy. I could afford it, but he’s only the one kid and I don’t have a yard at Grimmauld Place. I offered to get it for Andy’s yard, but she told me to get him a broom instead.”

    “You seriously want to buy my kids a playground?” Draco asked incredulously.

    “Yeah, um, if that’s alright with you. If you don’t want me too, I won’t get it.”

    “No, you can get it. It’s just that I’m going to owe Scorpius an apology.”

    “What for?”

    “I punished him for writing that letter, but it seems that was the best thing that has happened to me since you got me released from jail.”

    “Right, well the gift isn’t solely for your kids. I expect you’ll let me and Teddy come over every other Saturday morning. He’s desperately lonely for other kids to play with. He actually told me this morning that Scorp and Cael were so lucky to have all of these little brothers and sisters.”

    “I remember thinking like that back when I was little. I was an only child too, but my father’s friends had kids. That’s how I met Vince, Greg, and Theo, actually. Can you believe our four families all planned to have first born sons the same year? How bloody snobbishly pureblooded must my parents have been to arrange that with their three closest couple friends?”

    “Very,” Harry said, looking around at all of the portraits on the walls. The furniture was gone, but if anything there were more portraits on these walls than the last time he’d visited when Scorp and Cael were babies. “Did you get more portraits?”

    “No, we just moved all of the ones from the various playrooms down here. We don’t want them to have a chance to be alone with the kids.”

    “They don’t mind, do they? That they don’t know who the father is? I know I’ve got a portrait of Sirius’ mum up in my house and the bloody woman is a nightmare. Teddy’s used to her racist slurs by now and knows to ignore her, but still, I can imagine what she would say to eight children without knowing where they came from.”

    “My ancestors are all fine with it. The Dark Lord arranged it, so they are certain my load of Malfoy spawn are all secretly exceedingly pure when it comes to blood. Bloody prejudiced wankers; if I was a Weasley they’d scream that they were certain the other father was a mudblood.”

    “Well there’s that going for you at least,” Harry offered.

    “That my own racist ancestors favor me? Yes, I’ll always have that.” Draco laughed. “I actually ordered my portraits not to discuss blood politics in front of the children, because I don’t want them turning out like me.”

    “Sounds highly amusing.”

    “Oh trust me, it is. Salazar and Merlin like to go at it; they knew each other back in their day. I used to come in and find them at each other’s throats when I was a kid. I mean, they were literally in one of the other’s portrait with their hands around each other’s throats. I had to threaten them to stay out of each other’s portraits or I’d burn them both.”

    “That must have stopped the bickering. They don’t want to get burned, do they?”

    “Well it just moved it really. Our one old house elf tells me they still go at it in the kitchen, where no one can hear them. There’s a picture of my very large Great Great Aunt Beatrix dancing the ballet in there in a giant pink tutu. I’m not sure why it’s in there actually, because no human ever sets foot in our kitchen. Anyway, the two of them invade her frame, kick the very large and heinously dressed woman’s portrait out, and bicker over muggleborns and house elves.”

    “House elves too? Salazar hated everyone, didn’t he?”

    “No, Salazar is in favor of house elf rights; it’s Merlin who’s anti-elf. No one ever seems to remember that after his pro-muggle stance, but then I guess they don’t have Merlin’s portrait in their house shouting obscenities at their elves, now do they?”

    Harry burst out in hysterical laughter at the image that formed in his head.

    “Alright Potter, you’ve had your laugh. Now I’m done feeding Carina, so let’s go outside and get these bikes over with. You can take that contraption back to the muggle store and buy the baby something else instead. Maybe something already assembled and wizard, that way I can duplicate whatever it is for the next baby.”

    “No, I’ll take it home to Hermione and she’ll have it together in ten seconds flat, guaranteed. But we can go do the bikes now.”

    “Make your announcement; they are your gifts.”

    Harry did as Draco suggested and got a loud cheer from the children. The rowdy group ran outside followed by the three adults and the baby. The bikes were a huge hit, of course.

    Little Abraxas even came up to Harry and said, “This is the best gift I’ve ever had Auror Harry Potter,” before giving Harry a hug.

    It was all very heartwarming for Harry and he had a good time watching the children. He even found himself watching Narcissa and Draco watching the children. Narcissa’s look was pure joy at seeing her grandchildren so happy, while the pregnant Draco actually teared up at the sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think of the older children? Remind you of anyone you know?  
> Since Harry has been with Ginny for seven years now, I figure she has to be a nice person and their relationship has to work reasonably well. Don’t worry though, Harry is already thinking of breaking up with her for her own good.  
> Up next will be Christmas. Please Review!


	7. Chapter7

          Christmas was coming up fast and Harry promised to spend the morning at Malfoy Manor with Teddy. He was really looking forward to helping Draco put together the bedrooms with all of the new beds. That required him to actually buy one bed for Draco to duplicate. The next Saturday afternoon he purchased a very solid wooden bedframe from a proper wizarding store, just as Draco requested, and apparated it over to the Manor.

            Draco was outside tending the plants when Harry arrived. It was a blistery cold winter day, but Draco seemed to have a warming and sunning charm on the field. Harry could see precisely where the border to the charm was, because last night’s snow formed a line at the boundary. The charm also covered the grassy area where the children play, as well as a few nearby trees. The oldest four children were climbing in the trees, Cael and little Lyra were both swinging upside down with their knees wrapped around a tree branch.

            “Oh Harry, good, you’ve got it!” Draco said, abandoning the crops and approaching the path Harry was on.

            “Draco, are Cael and Ly supposed to be hanging upside down like that?” Harry asked, pointing to the kids. Harry could hardly make out her face from where he stood, but he knew it must be Lyra, because of the long messy black hair that was hanging down in sheets, dangling above the ground. Cael too was easily spotted, because every strand of his blond hair was perfectly in place, even while upside down.

            “Oi Lyra! You know I can’t afford it if you were to break something! And Cael, I don’t have time today to take you to hospital!” Draco chastised.

            Four heads turned towards them. The children seemed frozen a moment and then two little boys jumped down. Cael did a flip around the tree branch and landed on his feet, while Lyra had to pull herself up first, but then she was jumping down too and running after her brothers.

            Harry was greeted politely by four very excited children and then little Abraxas asked, “What did you get us this time Auror Harry Potter?”

            “Um, Draco, do they know?” Harry asked. It was rather obvious he was transporting a large piece of furniture, but it was unassembled, so there was a good chance the children wouldn’t be able to tell it was a bed.

            “No, they need something to be a surprise. Go play children while Harry and I get this ready for Christmas,” Draco replied.

            “You’re not taking away our tag room, are you Father?” Cael asked.

            “Yeah, we don’t want all that stuffy rich people stuff in our tag room like there is in all those old photos you showed us,” Brax said.

            “It’s a drawing room, boys, and no, we are not putting a stitch of furniture in it. This will go in your playrooms. You can stay out here and play quietly in the drawing room, but no daredevil stunts, especially you Cael; I saw how you got down from that tree and I’m not pleased,” Draco replied.

            Draco led Harry into the Manor, passed a foyer that was now crammed full of bikes. “Sorry, but if we leave them outside, they rust faster. That’s the mistake we made with the first two,” Draco explained, leading the way up the stairs.

            They came out in the second floor sitting room, which amazingly looked very similar to how it was the last time Harry had seen it. He was expecting all new furniture, but there was still the same old sofa, only doubled and elongated. It looked like it had been through a lot more wear and tear since Harry had last been here, with identical large purple stains on one seat cushion and patches on the armrests. The room was of a good size and took all of the sofas easily, with empty corners where end tables and display cases should be, but weren’t.

            Draco caught the direction of Harry’s gaze. “We stretched the sofa first, but then that wasn’t enough and we duplicated it. Let me just check on the little ones before we start; it’s naptime,” Draco said, walking towards the room Harry had remembered being set up for Draco and his two babies all those years ago.

            Harry propped the bedframe up against the wall and followed after Draco. There was still the same large bed in the room, but now there were two of them. The toddler bed was gone, but there were two very battered identical cribs. Carina and Aries were sleeping peacefully in the cribs, while Cassy and Cyg were sleeping together on one of the beds with an empty pillow in between them. The empty bed contained two pillows at the head and another two at the foot, with a small blanket laid out neatly next to each.

            “Draco, do all of the children sleep in this one room?” Harry asked.

            “Right now, yes. Before, when I had the toddler beds set up, Scorp and Cael had the room on the left, while Brax and Ly had the room on the right. Cyg and Cassy were in the cribs then and Carina and Aries weren’t born.”

            “Oh.” Harry didn’t know what to say, so he just looked around the room. There were several beat up old dressers and one armoire, but nothing else in the room besides the thick drapes on the windows. The room was large enough that even with all of that, it still managed to look empty.

            “I’ve been storing the mattresses and sheet sets upstairs,” Draco said, leading Harry back out to the sitting room and then up another flight of stairs. “I think it’s best to work up there, so that the children don’t see. Christmas eve I’ll move it all into position. I’m going to put Brax and Cyg in the room on the right this time and Ly and Cassy in the room on the left. Scorp and Cael will go in the spare room.”

            The third floor landing was half the size of the second and bare of furniture. Draco led Harry through the door on the left, which was a short hallway with just two more doors. The first door was opened and showed a small, barren room. It looked like it would make a good office, but a small bedroom. The other door Harry thought might be a closet or a bathroom, but turned out to be a small office absolutely stuffed with new mattresses and sheet sets. There was also a box of what looked like new toys in the corner.

            “I’ve been stock piling this for Christmas. Well some of it is extra duplicated items that I store so that I always have a fresh template to make more off of,” Draco explained.

            “Funny, I always thought this house was bigger. It looks huge from the outside.” All of the rooms were large, but there just weren’t that many of them; it was not the endless sprawling mansion he’d always pictured in his mind.

            “It was huge for three people, but with ten of us and counting, it’s getting tight. Part of why it looks so big is that the first floor has twice the floor space as the second and half of the third floor is taken up by a patio and the rest is the master bedroom. Up on the fourth floor there’s an attic apartment, which hasn’t been used since my grandparents died,” Draco explained. “How are you with duplications charms Harry?”

            “Not that good. You better do it.”

            “Alright, help me lay out each piece.”

            They separated the bed into pieces for Draco to duplicate, with Harry doing the heavy lifting and Draco assisting with his wand. “Listen Draco, I wanted to come over for Christmas and deliver the rest of the clothes and the playground set.”

            “Yes, sure.”

            “But I always spend Christmas morning with Teddy, Ginny, and Andy. Ginny is the one who’s responsible for the clothes, Andy is your aunt, and Teddy’s already been here. Would it be alright if I brought them?”

            Draco paused in his work to stare blankly at Harry for half a minute. “You want me to let your girlfriend and my aunt over here so they can see how poor we are?” he finally asked.

            “They already know you’re poor. And I told both of them about all of the kids, so you don’t need to worry about them judging you or whatever. We just want to come over for a few hours, pass out our gifts, and watch Teddy play with your kids.”

            “I don’t know…”

            “Come on Draco, I know Andy and Ginny were nice to you the last time they saw you. Ginny was here with me that one time right after Cael was born.”

            “I don’t know if I can face your girlfriend after that letter my son wrote you.”

            “Oh, I didn’t tell her about that. Well I told her there was a letter that made me come check on you, but she doesn’t know anything about Scorp thinking I’m his dad.”

            “Really?”

            “Yes. Well I didn’t know how I was supposed to explain that and the paternity potion still isn’t ready, so there’s not much of a point in telling her now. _If_ they are mine, then of course I’ll have to tell her, but until I know, I thought putting it off would be easier than dealing with it.”

            “I’m glad you did; it’s a big relief to me. The less people who know about that the better. The last thing I need is people thinking that I told my son _any_ of that. I’d probably get a year in Azkaban for blasphemy against the Savior.”

            Harry chuckled at Draco’s exaggeration. “Good, then I can bring them with me.”

            “Yes, alright, but I don’t want them spreading around what they see.

            Harry agreed and the two of them went back to work on the bed.

            “I think I’ve got this covered from here. If you want you may go downstairs and play with the older kids. Maybe check on the babies once more before you go, because Carina normally wakes up around this time,” Draco said.

            Harry agreed and went back down to the second floor. Carina was rubbing her eyes, just waking up, so Harry picked the baby up. Then he took the opportunity to snoop around to see how much Draco needed. The armoire and dressers in this room were all full of Draco’s clothes and baby things. Harry found what looked like an endless pile of nappies in the bottom of the armoire, which made him wonder what happened to the changing table he had bought for Scorp and Cael. Most likely it had fallen apart and been tossed, because there was no sign of it. The only door led to an attached bathroom, which looked like it got its share of use, judging by the prodigious number of tooth brushes.

            Next Harry took Carina with him to the room on the right of the sleeping room. It was very large, but empty except for some toys, three dressers, and one armoire that were all full of boy’s clothes. The toys were neatly arranged along the wall and each looked well played with. The one door off of it led to an attached bathroom.

            From there Harry went to the room behind the stairs, which was a study that was set up like a classroom. It contained six sets of desks and chairs, four of which looked like they belonged to the children. It too followed the Manor theme of being overly large and thus appearing sparsely furnished. Harry thought a couple more desks would fit easily and that it really ought to have a shelf full of children’s books.

            The next door Harry opened was a large bathroom off of the sitting room, proving that the one thing the Malfoys were not lacking was lavatories. The next door was another giant empty bedroom, also with its own loo. There were more dressers and the toys in here looked like they were for littler kids than the toys in the other room.

            The last door was a fourth bedroom with bath, just as large as the others, but almost completely empty, devoid even of children’s toys. The only items in this room were piles of used clothing, apparently separated by sex and size. There were piles of baby clothes in the sizes Carina wasn’t currently wearing, little girl’s dresses in Aries and Cyg’s sizes, and boy’s clothes in Lyra’s and Cassy’s sizes. This appeared to be where hand-me-downs were stored until they were needed again.

            Finally done snooping, Harry decided to go downstairs. He checked the drawing room for the children first, but all he found was Carina’s new toy. Hermione had assembled it and offered to drop it off for Harry. Now that it was assembled, it seemed to have a baby seat in the middle and was surrounded by toys. It was made out of bright plastic colors instead of wood, but now that it was together it didn’t look too different from a toy George and Angelina had had for their little Fred.

            The children weren’t in here, so Harry went back outside and found them having a snowball fight. None of them were dressed for the cold, but that seemed to be part of the game. They would scoop up snow from the boarder, make snowballs, and fling them at each other before they melted from the heating charm. At least they were wearing gloves so they wouldn’t get frost bite. The game was filled with the happy sounds of children’s amusement and laughter.

            Harry stood out there with Carina and watched the children play. It was amazing how well they got on together. They acted the opposite of the way he and Dudley used to be, with none of them picking on each other. They weren’t like the Weasleys either and didn’t insult each other or fight over limited resources, instead sharing what they had, even in a snowball war. Of course with four children they’d split up into teams, blonds against raven haired, with Scorp and Lyra against Cael and Brax.

            It wasn’t long before the toddlers woke up from their naps. Harry helped Draco watch the kids for another hour, but this was his weekend to spend with Ginny and he had other Christmas shopping to do, so he had to go after that. He wanted to stay, feeling drawn to these wonderful children, but at least he had an excuse to come back soon.

 

 

* * *

 

            Christmas morning came and as always, Harry and Ginny had spent the night at Andy’s, so that they could watch Teddy open presents first thing in the morning.

            “What time are we going to Draco’s?” Ginny asked, sitting next to Harry on the sofa while Teddy ravaged the large stack of wrapped toys.

            Teddy’s pile was as large as that of all of the toys Draco had in the corner of that office combined. Next year, Harry would make sure all of the children’s gifts were equal to Teddy’s. He’d wanted to get more toys for the Malfoy children, but they had needed other things so much more. Instead he’d gotten them a few new outfits, in addition to the used stuff Ginny had put together and new sneakers. There were books too from Andy, because she’d asked Harry what she should get. Harry had remembered the empty classroom and suggested books.

            “Ten. Now remember that he doesn’t like being reminded of how poor he is, how rich he used to be, or how far he thinks he’s fallen,” Harry replied.

            “Harry, I know. And the Malfoys being broke stopped being funny _years_ ago,” Ginny replied.

            “Oh, and I think he might still have that phobia of intimacy. It’s probably best to stick to holding hands, so we don’t make him uncomfortable,” Harry said. After the rape, Harry noticed that Draco cringed at the sight of people kissing. He didn’t even want to know how Draco reacted to anything more sexual.

            “Still? You don’t think he’s gotten over that by now?”

            “Well I didn’t exactly start making out with myself in his presence, did I? But from what he’s said, I’m reasonably certain he hasn’t dated anyone since Hogwarts.”

            “Poor guy. You don’t need to worry, because I’m not exactly into making out in front of all of those children.”

            Harry smiled and leaned in for a chaste kiss.

            “Alright Teddy, chose one toy to take with you and make it quick. We have to eat and get dressed before we can go visit the Malfoys,” Andy announced.

            At ten O’clock the four of them apparated over to Malfoy Manor, Andy taking Teddy side along. Ginny and Harry carried nine bags of clothes, shoes, and books between them for each of the children and for Draco. They gathered in the tag room on the first floor to pass out gifts. Draco and Narcissa had the room set up for the holiday, with a lighted tree, snowflakes, and garlands; all of the decorations were conjured and would fade in a day, but they served their purpose.

            They had only gotten Draco one new set of robes, but he was still shocked to get something and seemed appreciative. All of the children were happy to receive the gifts, thanking Andy, Harry, Ginny, and Teddy. Cyg was the only one who seemed disappointed in his lot, but then he was too young to really value gifts that weren’t toys. The children had hand-made ornaments and cards for each of them. Draco gave them a jar of homemade jam. Narcissa gave Teddy a copy she’d made herself of the Black family book, which contained a history of their family and all of the notable members. It was something only she could give, because her sister hadn’t been allowed to keep her copy when she was disowned; Narcissa was officially the last of the Blacks.

            Scorp and Cael both seemed to gravitate towards their new shoes, staring at the shiny white leather as if they’d never owned a pair like that before; they probably hadn’t. Brax was drooling over the books, his eyes wide as he started to read right there. Brax even eyed his older brother’s books covetously, but books last, so he would eventually get to read those too. Aries was also a fan of the books, picking up a little cardboard one with bright colors that made animal sounds when he touched the magical creatures in it. Aries didn’t put that book down all day and screeched when Harry tried to take it from him to read to him. Lyra couldn’t stop gushing about her new clothes. Cassy insisted on changing into her new dress right that moment, stripping there in the drawing room.

            Teddy had fun running around with all of the other kids and seemed to be feeding off of their excitement, while the adults had fun watching the kids. Draco’s kids seemed to be in agreement that this was the best Christmas ever, because not only did they have new bikes, shoes, books, and clothes from Harry, Ginny, and Andy, but they had one new toy each, new beds, and new rooms from Draco and Narcissa. Harry didn’t want his contribution of the bedframes to overshadow all of the effort Draco and Narcissa had put into the gift, so he kept his name out of it; when asked, he said he only picked up the frame from the store.

            Teddy must have spent half an hour being pulled between hyper children who wanted to show off their new rooms, as if it was the best gift in the world. Harry thought Teddy would roll his eyes at the fact that the children were so excited about having such a normal thing that they should have had all along, but to Harry’s relief, Teddy seemed to be through the roof himself. Of course for Teddy it wasn’t the rooms, but the sheer number of kids to play with. It was like having all of Molly and Arthur’s grandkids combined under one roof, but better, because there were three boys near Teddy’s age. All of the eldest Weasley grandchildren were girls and several years younger than Teddy to boot.

            The general excitement and squeals of delight around the house only increased when they all went outside and Harry gave them the playground set. Even shrunk, it was large, so Kreacher delivered it when called. Before it could be played on, Harry unshrunk it, Narcissa stretched it, and Draco duplicated it. Instead of the original two swings, one slide, and one set of monkey bars, it ended up with eight swings, two larger slides, and two sets of elongated monkey bars. It looked rather impressive on the heated grassy yard and provided hours of enjoyment that day alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wouldn’t you just love a little Malfoy child for Christmas? I know I would.  
> I have a question for all of you. I never intended to include a sexual component when I developed the mechanism for male pregnancy in this story. If you’ve been paying attention, you will note that I gave Draco boobs and a vagina in addition to his usual parts. He will continue to have them for as long as he is pregnant or breast feeding, which will be about two and a half more years. Towards the end of this story I’m thinking of building up to an intimate scene; not sex, but touching. Do you think it would be weird to have a mini-lemon with Draco in the hermaphroditic state? If they were to actually have sex, would they have it vaginally or anally? Not that they will, but if they did, which would you prefer?  
> Up next will be the paternity test. Please Review!


	8. Chapter8

_Draco—The potion is ready. Can I come over this weekend to test it? –Harry_

_Harry—Yes. –Draco_

_Draco—I’ll be there Saturday at ten. –Harry_

        Harry could hardly sleep Friday night with his anticipation. Ginny kept asking him what was wrong. He told her that he was going to start testing potential fathers to the Malfoy children, but she didn’t understand why he was so anxious about it. He had kept her in the dark about the possibility that he was the father for a month now. Up until the potion was ready, the fib didn’t bother him. But now that the actual test was approaching, he began to feel like he was lying to her and betraying her trust by not telling her. Only now he had gone so long without telling her that he didn’t know how to broach the subject.

        Harry did eventually fall asleep. After being up all night, he ended up sleeping in. He woke up with barely enough time to dress, grab the potion, and apparate to the Manor.

        “You have it?” Draco asked, standing in the foyer to greet Harry.

        “Yes. How do you want to do this?”

        “I already have our hairs. I don’t want them to know, so let’s go into the potions lab.”

        Draco led Harry through the drawing room, down a long hallway, and into the lab. He had eight vials laid out with two hairs in each, one from him and the other from the child being tested. Harry added his own hairs to each vial and then poured out a measure of paternity potion from the large flask he brought with him. Every time he had tested Scorp and Cael before, back when they were babies, the potion always did nothing. If it wasn’t a match, it would be the same as if it didn’t work at all. It would be no different from pouring oatmeal on the hairs.

        This time, nothing was not what happened. The first vial began to smoke before Harry had even started pouring the potion into the fourth vial. It was a thick pink color and billowed up out of vials. There were eight vials of it all spewing forth thick sooty fumes, so it quickly filled the room. Draco started choking on the smoke. Since Draco was pregnant with what was likely Harry’s ninth child, Harry quickly grabbed him and pulled him out of the room, back into the hall and closing the door behind them.

        Draco coughed and leaned against the wall for support. It wasn’t just that he had breathed in the awful pink fumes, but the weight of the situation that was sinking in. He slowly sunk to the floor as his head spun.

        “Draco, are you alright? Draco! Are you going to pass out?” Harry asked frantically, kneeling down in front of Draco.

        “No,” Draco replied in a daze.

        “No you’re not alright or no you’re not going to pass out?”

        “The second one…maybe the first one too.”

        “What should I do?”

        Draco shrugged. There wasn’t much to do but get their heads on straight and go tell the children.

        “Right, well then,” Harry said and leaned up against the wall next to Draco. Now that he was fairly certain Draco wasn’t in danger of passing out, he could freak out too. Eight kids? What was he going to do with eight kids? Plus Teddy and the baby on the way? Marrying Ginny and having a kid with her was certainly out of the question.

        They were both silent, lost in thought, for half an hour.

        “How?” Draco asked.

        “How what?”

        “How did the Dark Lord get your, you know? Did you ever—with him there?”

        “What? No! There was never anything like that.”

        “Then how? I know you said you were connected, but I don’t see how he could have completed the ritual without your actual stuff.”

        “Oh, well I might know that. Hermione’s been researching it for me. She said that there’s a way to make viable semen; wizards sometimes use it if their own bits aren’t functioning properly. It requires a really powerful wizard to cast the spell, a complex potion, a dark ritual, and blood from the person whose semen you want to create. Voldemort took my blood. He used it to recreate his body. My blood flowed in his veins, so he could create my semen by taking a sample of it anytime he pleased. You said there was a dark spell involved; maybe that was it.”

        “Oh... Harry?”

        “Yeah Draco?”

        “Could you do me a favor and not give your blood to any dark wizards again?”

        “Of course; I didn’t want the git to have my blood in the first place.”

        “Good.”

        “Draco?”

        “Yes Harry?”

        “What do you think of me being the father? I’m not just asking about having a father to help out and support them, but having that person be me specifically. We’ve got on alright for a while now, but are you okay with your kids being mine? I’m only a halfblood.”

        “Just don’t tell the portraits and it’ll be fine.”

        “Okay. But seriously, what are you thinking? Our kids might grow up to be Gryffindors.”

        “I don’t know about the one inside me yet, but the eight upstairs are Slytherins.”

        “How can you tell? They seem like such nice, down to Earth children. I don’t think there’s a conniving bone in any of their bodies.”

        “Slytherin isn’t just about blood purity, dark magic, and sly tricks, you know. It’s about heritage, honor, devotion to family, bravery, self-preservation, and intelligence. It’s our culture, really.”

        Harry raised his eye skeptically, but didn’t feel like arguing about school houses; not when he just found out that he has eight kids he didn’t know about.

        “I’ll concede that Aries and Carina are still so young that you stand a chance at persuading them around to your way of thinking, but I think that’s unlikely,” Draco continued. “Two hours twice a month with you is not enough to turn them into Gryffindors.”

        “Draco, I don’t want to be here twice a month now that I know they’re mine! I want to be here every day!”

        “Come again?”

        “I know I can’t live here, but what’s to stop me from coming over when I get off of work and flooing home at night? Maybe I can’t come every single day, but five or six days a week should be doable. Don’t tell me you can’t use the help and I want to get to know them.”

        “What about your fiancé? You’re getting married; you won’t have that much time for us.”

        “I’m breaking up with Ginny.”

        “Why?”

        “Because I’ve no business getting married and having kids with Ginny when our eight kids are living in poverty. I know I already helped you a lot, but now that I know they’re my kids, things are going to change. I’m going to furnish this house properly and get them everything they need. I grew up with nothing and I’ve always said that my children will have what I didn’t. I was appalled when I came here last month and realized your kids didn’t even have as much stuff as I had; even if they weren’t my kids I was going to change that.”

        “You shouldn’t give up your life for us; this wasn’t your fault. You should marry Ginny Weasley and give us what you can. The Ministry gives me twenty galleons a month for Cael; just give me another sixty and I’ll make it work. Salazar, I could make this place look like a palace again with eighty galleons a month! I used to not think that was possible, but with the way we grow all of our own food and duplicate things, I can do miracles with a few galleons.”

        “I won’t do that to my kids. I don’t want them to see me living a better life than they are. I’m going to spend every last galleon on them.”

        “You don’t have to.”

        “I want to. Besides, I’d be mortified if the Prophet found out my kids had nothing while I had everything. I won’t do it.”

        “The Prophet doesn’t have to know. The Ministry doesn’t even know I have more than the first two.”

        “How is that possible? You have to register their births with the Ministry before you leave St. Mungo’s. And you have to list them on your taxes at least.”

        “Cael was the only one born at St. Mungo’s. I had all the others here. I can’t afford a healer for something that happens just the same either way, now can I? And we were already in the bottom tax bracket with just two, so there was no point telling the Ministry about the rest.”

        “You seriously didn’t tell anyone at all about them?”

        “No, I told the guards at Azkaban; I have to register who I’m taking to see my father.”

        “Right…” Harry didn’t like the idea that his kids were visiting Lucius in Azkaban twice a year. Yes, the dementors were gone, but it still wasn’t the type of place to take children. Was it too late in the game to disallow it?

        “So like I was saying, the Prophet doesn’t need to know any of this, Harry.”

        “They are going to find out when I take them to the Ministry gala in two weeks. Spouses and children are invited and I want you all to come with me.” It happened to be the one gala a year that was child friendly.

        “Absolutely not! I won’t have them showing up in rags to a gala!”

        “I’ll buy dress robes; brand new ones too, not hand-me-downs.”

        “There’s no way you can afford dress robes for all of us on top of furnishing the Manor like you said. If it comes down to it, I’d rather have the furniture.”

        “I’ve got some money saved up. I’ll just spend it all.”

        “I don’t want you to do that. We’ll need the money when we start sending them off to Hogwarts in another four years.”

        “You said you didn’t claim six of the kids on your taxes, correct?” Harry asked, getting a sudden burst of inspiration.

        “Correct, why?”

        “Well I could re-file my taxes for the past six years claiming them! I’ll get so much tax money back that I can fix up your house, take the kids to however many galas I want, and send them to Hogwarts with new things.”

        “Alright,” Draco agreed. “How are we going to tell the children?”

        “There’s nothing for it but to say it. Scorpius already knows I was making the potion and he already suspects it.”

        “I’ll call them all down to the drawing room then.”

        They stood up slowly and went upstairs to fetch the children and Narcissa. Narcissa seemed to know the result just from the looks on their faces and the fact that they were calling a family meeting.

        “Alright, sit down against the wall; I want your full attention and no playing around,” Draco ordered, holding Carina on his hip.

        Narcissa was holding Aries, sitting down against the wall with the children. Harry felt guilty that the aging witch was made to sit on the ground, but there was no furniture in this room.

        “Father, what’s wrong?” Cael asked, holding Cyg’s hand and trying to get his little brother to sit down properly.

        “Nothing is wrong. Auror Harry Potter just has some news to share with you all. Now be quiet so that everyone can hear him,” Draco said.

        When the children were all seated and quiet, Draco nodded to Harry.

        Harry stepped forward and said, “Er, right. We Aurors have been trying to track down your second father for years. Scorpius informed me last month of a new possible suspect and I brewed a potion then that would allow us to test his idea out. I brought the potion over this morning and it produced a positive result.”

        Scorpius was smiling and Cael’s and Brax’s chins dropped down to their chests.

        “Well who is it?” Lyra asked impatiently. Apparently Scorpius had not told his little sister his suspicions.

        “Me, I am, your dad that is. The result was the same for all of you; you’re all mine. What do you kids think? Would it be alright if I was your dad?”

        Scorpius jumped up and ran to hug Harry and the others followed after him. There was a chorus of agreement, but Harry couldn’t make any one response out from the general din of excited shrieks. Even baby Carina smiled and clapped her little hands. Harry never felt more loved and accepted than when his children hugged him. He worried that they wouldn’t forgive him for not being around for all those years, but the kids didn’t seem to be holding that against him. They were all far too happy that he was here now.

        Harry spent the day at Malfoy Manor trying to bond with his kids, but eventually he had to go home to Grimmauld Place and face Ginny.

        Ginny knew something was up the moment Harry said they needed to talk, but she was taken completely by surprise by the news. Twice he had to explain to her how it was that Voldemort had gotten his semen for the ritual, because it was just so unbelievable. She was shocked and didn’t want to believe it at first, but eventually she did, because she knew he wouldn’t make something like this up. Once that was out of the way, he informed her of his desire to break up, for the sake of his children.

        “Harry, please don’t do this! I love you. We love each other. I know this is a big shock, but we’ll make this work. I want to help out with the kids,” Ginny insisted.

        “You deserve better than this Ginny. I can’t afford to take care of my kids and keep us in the life we’ve become accustomed to. I can’t afford a wedding and the last thing I need now is more children. I wanted to build my life with you, I really did, but I can’t do that now. You’ll find someone else to marry and have kids of your own, just like we talked about, only not with me. I can’t be with you anymore; I need to be there for my kids.”

        “Harry, I don’t really care if I don’t have kids of my own! This works out great for me actually, because now I don’t have to give up my career. I wanted to have kids, because you wanted them. I wanted to give them to you. But now you’ve got them and I don’t have to worry about getting fat! I don’t even have to be up during the night tending to runny noses and fevers, because Draco does all that. I like kids, but I’d much rather play with them during the day and leave them with Draco at night.”

        “You say that now, but I don’t want you growing old and resenting me for never giving you children.”

        “I won’t!”

        “I’m sorry Gin, but this is the way it has to be. I hope we can still be friends.” It was breaking Harry’s heart to say it, but he felt he had to. “You’re welcome to keep living here—there’s plenty of room—but we can’t be together anymore. I’ll move my stuff to another bedroom.”

        “Ergh! Harry Potter you are a stupid senseless moron! You are so egotistical making this decision without me! If this is how you are, then maybe we shouldn’t get marry after all!” Ginny shouted, before turning her back on Harry and leaving the room. She always did have a temper, only it’d been years since it’d been set off.

        Ginny didn’t want to do this, but she didn’t know what else to say to Harry to get him to see reason. She knew they loved each other and were meant to be together, but he didn’t seem to understand that she wanted him much more than she ever wanted children. She could only hope that he would come around and see reason once he got over the shock.

        Harry moved his clothes to another room and then owled Ron, Hermione, Andy, and Molly with the news; both of the breakup and that he was the father of the Malfoy children. It had been a very emotionally trying day and he was exhausted, so he went to bed after the letters were sent off. Hopefully Hermione would explain it to Ron, so that he didn’t have to.

        First thing the next day Harry stopped by Andy’s place to explain the news in person to Teddy. He took Teddy out to a muggle ice cream parlor not too far from Andy’s house and got them each fat ice cream cones. It was too cold to be ice cream season, but the shop was heated and talks with seven year olds always went down better with ice cream involved.

        “Teddy, I need to tell you something really important that I just found out yesterday,” Harry began.

        “Yeah Harry?” Teddy asked absentmindedly, taking another lick of his treat.

        “You know the Malfoy children; Scorpius, Caelum, Abraxas, Lyra, Cygnus, Cass-i-er Cassy, Aries, and Carina.” Harry was going to have to ask Draco what Cassy’s full name was again. He knew it was a constellation, but he hadn’t had to bother with astronomy since fifth year and had forgotten most of it.

        “Yeah Harry, we was jus’ there las’ weekend and we’re ‘posed to go back nex’ weekend. They’re really fun to play wi’, ‘specially Scorp, Cael, and Brax.”

        “That’s good, because we’re going to be spending a lot more time with them.”

        “Awesome!”

        “Because I’m their other dad. I didn’t know, but I did a test yesterday, and they’re all mine. That doesn’t mean I’ll love you any less, just that I’ll be going over there whenever I can. That includes during our visiting time. Do you think it’d be alright to share me with them?”

        “Yeah, alright, as long as we still get to play together.” Teddy shrugged and went back to eating his ice cream. Then a wide smile split his face in two. “Does this mean they’cin all be my little brothers and sisters? I’m the oldest.”

        “We’ll have to talk to Draco about titles, but during our time together it would be like that, yes.”

        “Brilliant! I always wann’ed a brother.”

        Harry thought there was a good chance Teddy wouldn’t feel that way once he realized how little attention there was to go around with nine kids and only three adults, but he was glad to get the positive response. This had gone much more smoothly than he had thought.

        “Good. After we finish our ice creams, do you want to go furniture shopping with me or should I drop you back off with your gran?”

        “Are ya gonna see the Malfoys t’day?”

        “Yes, I’ll be dropping off the furniture there after I buy it.”

        “Then I wanna go wi’ you.”

        With that settled, they focused on their treats. Teddy ended up dripping ice cream down his shirt and getting it all over his face. Harry took him into the restroom to clean him up, so that the muggles wouldn’t see his wand. Then it was back to Andy’s house to tell her they were going out shopping, before they flooed over to Diagon Alley.

        “Auror Potter! What can I get for you today?” Mr. Goodrich, the owner of the furniture shop asked. He was the short balding middle aged man who had sold Harry the bed frame a few weeks ago.

        “I’ve come back for the rest of the set to match the frame. I want the lot; bedside table, chest of drawers, toy chest, wardrobe, and bookcase,” Harry answered.

        Harry didn’t like all of his children having replicated items, because they didn’t last as long and there was always a chance the charm would break and the duplicate would disappear. But he had a lot of things to buy and he didn’t want to run out of money, so he’d start with one set and let Draco duplicate it for now. Eventually he would get them all their own things.

        Mr. Goodrich located the items Harry wanted and stacked them in a large pile. “Will that be all Auror Potter?” he asked when finished.

        “No, actually I need a nursery set too; a crib, changing table, chest of drawers, highchair, and rocking chair.” Harry had seen the Malfoy dining room. There were two old duplicated highchairs in there, but they weren’t in any better shape than the rest of the place. With a new baby coming, they would need a new one.

        Mr. Goodrich helped Harry pick out a nice neutral nursery set that matched Draco’s bed. “I don’t suppose there is anything else I can help you with after all of this. You’d have to be completely redoing your house to want more.”

        “Actually, I am completely redoing a house, but not mine. It’s for someone else and I do need more. I need a large sofa, a couple armchairs, an end table, and a coffee table for a sitting room.”

        Mr. Goodrich led them over to the collection of sitting room furniture he had. Harry picked a set and then the shopkeeper rang up the bill. Harry didn’t carry that much money on him, so he arranged for a Gringotts transfer to pay for it all. Then he called Kreacher and ordered the elf to take the furniture to Malfoy Manor.

        “Are the Malfoys having a baby then?” Mr. Goodrich asked. “They’ve got two boys, haven’t they?”

        “Lord Malfoy is helping me with a charity project. He said I can store the furniture at his place. It’s for a mutual friend,” Harry lied. He didn’t think Draco was ready for the news to get out just yet.

        “That’s very kind of you sir. Good day,” Mr. Goodrich said.

        Harry thanked the man and then borrowed the store’s floo, because he had Teddy along.

        When they came out of the floo, Draco was in the drawing room with Carina on his hip. Draco stared at the huge pile of furniture, looking rather pale, as if he might faint.

        “Um, yeah, I thought this was a good start, but maybe you should sit down,” Harry said, positioning the new rocking chair underneath Draco.

        Draco passed the baby over to Harry and sat.

        “Father!”

        “Father, what’s going on?”

        “Father?”

        And then the three eldest Malfoy boys were in the room staring at the pile of furniture.

        “Oh no!” Cael exclaimed alarmed.

        “Daddy’s gone and bought furniture for our drawing room,” Scorp said sadly.

        “Daddy, how could you? Where are we going to play tag?” Brax asked, sounding betrayed.

        “Relax, none of this is staying in here. It’s only here until we can sort it all out,” Harry assured the children.

        “Yay!” the three boys cheered.

        It took the entire rest of the day, because Draco had to duplicate everything first and all of the old furniture had to be thrown out. But eventually they got the house back together in a much more presentable manner. The children each had full brand new bedroom sets and there was a new sitting room. Draco even put one of the duplicated armchairs in the drawing room downstairs, telling the children to just play tag around it, because it was time the adults had a proper place to sit while supervising.

        “It actually looks nice enough in here to invite someone over,” Draco said. “I can’t thank you enough Harry.”

        “Well you can thank me by taking the children to get measured for dress robes for me. The weekend’s over and I have to work tomorrow, but those robes can’t wait until next weekend.”

        “Going out with eight children is a lot of work Harry; I didn’t think I would survive the visit to Azkaban a couple of weeks ago. But with the house looking this nice, I can have Madam Tatting come here. I know she does house calls still,” Draco replied.

        “Great!”

        “You’ll have to leave me the money though, because my credit is nonexistent these days.”

        “We’re going to have to change that. My credit is your credit now,” Harry said.

        “Harry, can I talk to you in the library for a minute?” Draco asked, inclining his head towards one of the doors off of the drawing room. With nine children in the house, there were always little ears listening.

        Harry agreed and they went into the library. Draco shut the door behind them, sealing them off from the prying eyes of children.

        Harry looked around. The library wasn’t nearly as shabby as the rest of the house, which was probably due to the fact that the children weren’t allowed to play in here. Half of the built in shelves were filled with books, which was surprising.

        “The Ministry let you keep all of these books?” Harry asked.

        “Yes, well most of them can’t physically be removed from the room and the others are all on the history of the Malfoy family. There’s not much money in the history of someone else’s family, now is there? And let me tell you, they’re at least half fiction, because Armand Malfoy’s portrait denies half of the stuff Nicholas Malfoy wrote about him. Nicholas Malfoy’s portrait insists it makes a better story the way he wrote it though.”

        “Right. What did you want to come in here for?” Harry asked.

        “I wanted to talk to you about everything you’re doing for us. I really appreciate it, but I won’t be your charity case. We’re not a real couple and you didn’t agree to these children, so I won’t have you signing over your vaults to me or anything else like that. Can you imagine the howlers I’d get if I did? Lord Malfoy scamming Savior Potter.”

        “You didn’t agree to these kids either, but we’ve got them. I said this before and I meant it: my children are going to be just as well off as I am. It’s my money and I’ll spend every last knut of it on my kids if I want to.”

        “Alright, I’m just saying you don’t have to. I’m not asking you to and I’m definitely not making you.”

        “Got it. Now I can either add you to my Gringotts vault or transfer funds into your vault.”

        “Transfer, please. I don’t want you worrying that I spent too much.”

        “If you need something, I’ll get it for you.”

        “Thank you.”

        “And I’m getting a lot from you in return. You’re the one taking care of them most of the time and I’ll need you to do some of the errands too.”

        “Like what? I already agreed to get them fitted for robes, but we have a busy schedule as it is. Those warming charms on the crops don’t cast themselves. The older children have school and the little ones require a lot of care.”

        “I need you to take them and get proper birth certificates. I need official papers to refile my taxes and to put them on my health insurance.”

        “Alright, I’ll work on it, but I need money for that too. I looked into it before and there are filing fees and a visit with a healer to assure they’ll real and mine,” Draco said.

        “That’s fine; I’ll get the money transferred to your vault. Let’s get back out there and see what the kids are up to,” Harry suggested.

        They walked back into the drawing room full of playing children. Lyra came up to Harry and flung herself at his legs.

        “Daddy, this is like a fairwytale isn’t it?” Lyra asked.

        “How’s that Lyra?” Harry asked.

        “Because we’re poor, then the king shows up and we’re really princes and princesses. We don’t go to live in the castle, but you turn our house into a castle,” Lyra answered.

        “That’s a good idea for a story Ly. You should make me a picture book with it at school,” Draco suggested.

        “That’s a great idea Father! Do you think Gran’mother will let me have a whole roll of par’ment to make it?” she asked hopefully.

        “Tell you what Ly, I’ll bring home an entire scroll of parchment from work tomorrow just for you,” Harry said, placing a soft kiss on Lyra’s messy hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Harry is officially the dad! Yay!  
> Up next is the Ministry gala and the big reveal to the wizarding world. What do you think the children are going to think of the event and all of the new people? The youngest six have never even left the Manor before.  
> Please review!


	9. Chapter9

        “Harry, I don’t think I’m going to the gala. You take the children and go without me,” Draco said.

        It was the day of the big event. The gala wasn’t until the evening, but with nine children to get ready, they were starting the baths and laying out the dress robes now. There were nine, because he had Teddy too; he wanted to show up with all nine of them together, so that Teddy wouldn’t feel left out. Teddy was his son too.

        “But Draco, I can’t handle nine children by myself! I already promised Teddy I’d take him; I always take him. And I want to show my kids off to everyone. There’s absolutely no way I can handle Carina and Aries. Even Cyg is little enough that he might get lost in the crowd!”

        “Your Weasley friends will be there and I’m sure they know how to wipe drool off of a baby and keep a toddler from sticking his fingers in the cake. What’s the point of letting them all come over if you can’t call on them to help at a gala?”

        Harry had invited Ron, Hermione, Arthur, and Molly over to meet his children. They’d been surprised, Hermione less so than the others, to learn that he was the father but good natured about it. They were upset over the breakup with Ginny, but wanted to get to know Harry’s children, incorporate themselves into their lives, and make up for lost time. They also knew how hard it was to give adequate attention to every child with such a large family and were keen to help fill in.

        Molly was particularly pleased at gaining access to more young children, because the five grandchildren she had weren’t nearly enough. Arthur too was willing to take up the grandfatherly role, considering Harry his son. He was particularly pleased to learn there were a number of boys and that it wouldn’t be all tea parties and tiaras. He spent his visit with Cyg and Aries hunting for bugs outside with a real muggle net, bug collection box, and magnifying glass. Molly spent her time with Cassy and Carina, playing dress-up and dollies.

        Ron, like his dad, was more interested in the boys and related to them the best. He’d struck up a bit of a bond with Cael already, despite his initial dislike of the Draco look-a-like. Once he realized that the resemblance was only skin deep and that Cael was his biggest fan, wanting to play Aurors and Dark Wizards with him, Ron was sold. Scorp wanted in on the game and Ron had gotten on with him as well. Hermione had taken an interest in Brax and Lyra. Brax was the only one not bored to tears over her stories about her work with house elf rights. Lyra, with her Potter hair and lack of grace, reminded Hermione of herself, even if that was where the similarity ended. Lyra was extremely kind, nurturing, and above all else a tomboy, but not particularly bookish. Harry was relieved when Hermione didn’t hold it against Lyra that she’d ditched Hermione in favor of Ron and the boys.

        Harry of course thought it had gone splendidly and killed two birds with one stone in that the Weasleys had gotten to meet the children and Draco and Narcissa had gotten a break. He suggested inviting his other friends and some of the other Weasleys over the weekend after next, but didn’t get the response he’d been expecting. Draco had barely kept himself together with four strange people in his house and absolutely freaked when Harry suggested more strangers.

        Draco was paranoid about what the Weasleys must think of him and thought that they must blame him. Either he should have known Harry was the father, should’ve had abortions, or should’ve never let the Dark Lord near him in the first place. Harry had had to assure Draco that neither he nor the Weasleys thought any of that and that they just wanted to help out and spend time with the kids. Eventually Draco had calmed down, but only after Harry promised that there wouldn’t be any new guests for a while.

        “But the kids don’t know them well. They barely know me. And since when do you trust your kids to the Weasleys? Aren’t you worried that Hermione’s dirty blood might rub off on them?” Harry didn’t want to encourage Draco’s previous pureblood beliefs to resurface, but he wanted to attend a Ministry function alone with nine children even less.

        “No, I think her blood is just fine these days. I’m much more worried about Ronald Weasley’s manners. What if my children come home eating with their mouths open and their elbows on the table? Or speaking like urchin? Or worse?” Draco shuddered at the thought. “It’s bad enough they started sounding like Teddy.”

        Teddy had been over to visit five times now and the way he spoke was starting to rub off on the Malfoy children. Harry didn’t have a problem with Teddy’s speech; his godson was only seven and a half and acted like it. But Draco thought Teddy’s grasp of the English language was on par with Cyg or maybe even Cassy. Teddy had a limited vocabulary and tended to overuse certain words, such as got. Sometimes it seemed as if Teddy used the G-word in every sentence, which just wasn’t acceptable to Draco.

        Draco used to tolerate the occasional got, but last weekend he’d blown up and banned the G-word from Malfoy Manor. With nine kids and four Weasleys in the house, he heard it one too many times and couldn’t stand it anymore. Consequentially, Harry was now supposed to gently remind Teddy not to use that word whenever he slipped, which was frequently. The other children were receiving regular reminders too, but they’d grown up in a house where a certain level of grammar was expected and weren’t in the habit of over-using the G-word.

        “Right, we can’t have that happening, so you better come along then,” Harry said.

        “No, I’m not going.”

        “What? Why? What about the urchin thing?” Harry didn’t really know what Draco meant by the urchin comment, but he was pretty sure he’d eaten with his elbows on the table and talked with his mouth full just a few hours ago when they all ate breakfast together. It was best not to go with a rule he himself was guilty of breaking.

        “If it comes to that it’ll be elocution lessons and regular scolding until it stops. You seem to be willing to fling money at all our other problems; an elocution tutor once a week isn’t that costly.”

        From Harry’s experience, the new Draco with eight kids had a phobia of flinging money at problems, because of the past seven years without money. It was a pretty big deal for Draco to suggest such a thing now.

        “Draco, what’s really going on? I know you still haven’t left this house, even though I’ve bought the kids proper cloths. Yes, you had that seamstress come here for robe fittings, but you didn’t take any of the kids to St. Mungo’s to start the official paperwork on them. Are you afraid to leave this house?”

        “Leaving per se, no, leaving with nine children in tow, yes.”

        “Why? I can handle Teddy and you’ve taken eight all of the way to Azkaban. That’s a horrible boat trip and a long walk even after the floo.” There was no apparition on the island, for security reasons. Key guards were allowed to floo in, but new employees, lesser guards, and visitors had to take the boat.

        “Portkey, actually.”

        “What?”

        “There are too many of us to fit on the boat, so they arrange a portkey for us.”

        “Still, portkeying children isn’t easy. The little ones must cry.”

        “They do, but I go through the hassle, because it’s the only way to visit my father. My father won’t be at your little gala, or I would go.”

        Draco was protesting a little too much without nearly enough reason. Harry thought Draco should be excited for the chance to show off his new set of dress robes Harry had paid for. The kids would be dressed nicer than ever for the occasion, so it couldn’t be that. And then a reason for Draco’s refusal occurred to Harry.

        “No one besides my friends and family knows about the kids, do they?” Harry asked.

        “Technically Andromeda is my family, not yours.”

        “That’s beside the point. You’ve still not told anyone.”

        “That’s not true; I owled my friends last week.”

        “That’s not nearly enough; the world still doesn’t know. It’s coming out tonight. I won’t keep them hidden away anymore. Come tomorrow morning the wizarding world is going to know that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy have eight children together.”

        “And I don’t envy you explaining that. What are you going to say? No wait, don’t tell me; save it for my morning paper. I’ll hear about it in the hate mail and howlers, but just the same, I think I’ll send my mother out to pick one up. It’ll look nice in my scrapbook.”

        “The truth. That I didn’t know I was the father, but a paternity test proved it was me all along.”

        “And how do you explain the six children no one knows I had? Hmm?”

        “Ah, do I really have to explain that? It’s not like I wrote the papers and deliberately left it out. I’m not on record saying you only have two kids. I didn’t lie about it.”

        “I certainly went out of my way to deceive everyone.”

        “Well we’ll cover that up if it really bothers you. I’ll talk to Andy and have her lie for you. She’ll say she knew you had the kids all along and that you weren’t hiding it; it was just that no one bothered to check up on you.”

        “I’ve been checked up on loads of times. Twice now low level officials have shown up here to inspect the place. Mother took the little ones camping in the forest for the day and I moved the extra beds and baby stuff to the attic apartment, so they wouldn’t suspect anything. And I receive regular letters from your boss asking about this allegation or that. Instead of admitting that there was no way I could be smuggling dragon dung across Albania because I was nine months pregnant with Cassy, I lied and said I was home with just two children at the time.”

        “Someone accused you of smuggling dragon dung across Albania?” Harry sniggered and couldn’t help the laugh that burst forth.

        “Yes. I’ll have you know it’s a lucrative trade, because it’s used in potions and as dragon bait by poachers.”

        “I’m an Auror, I know all about dragon poachers. But you have to admit it’s funny.”

        “I’m glad my legal problems amuse you.”

        “Sorry, but back to the point. No one specifically questioned you regarding how many children you have, right?”

        “Not that I recall.”

        “Then you didn’t blatantly lie; you lied by omission. I can cover that up easily enough or change the subject. If they ask why the birth certificates were never filed, I can blame your finances and the filing fee.” It would certainly be harder for Harry than if Draco hadn’t lied, but he didn’t think that it’d be a major problem. His main concern was not having Draco around to help him with the kids.

        “Right, well I’ll start leaving the house after the storm dies down.”

        “Draco! Come on, I need your help tonight.”

        “I’m pregnant Harry, I don’t feel like going to your little gala and being gawked at. My back is killing me and my feet are already sore; I don’t need to be chasing after Aries all night.”

        “Fine, but don’t complain to me when I bring back urchin instead of children.”

        “I’ll wash their mouths out if it’s that bad. The good thing about children is that as long as they don’t die, you can fix them back up after anything; they’re resilient.”

        That settled it, because Draco wouldn’t budge. “Fine, I’ll go owl Andy, Hermione, Ron, and maybe Molly too,” Harry conceded, before sitting down to write. In Andy’s letter, he included his request that she pretend she knew about the younger six Malfoy kids all along; hopefully her word would be enough cover.

        Molly wrote back that she, Ron, Arthur, and Hermione would meet him there, near the floo. Andy wrote back her agreement with his request and that she’d floo to the Manor to help Harry get the children across. He was very grateful for Andy’s help, because without Draco or Narcissa, he needed the help.

        Harry requested the maximum of ten tickets for the evening and acquired an extra one off of Hermione; one for each of the kids, Draco, and himself. He could’ve put in a special request for extra tickets, but those were due six months in advance and had to be approved. Since he didn’t have a ticket for Narcissa, she hadn’t planned on going. Now that Draco wasn’t going, Narcissa could’ve taken his ticket, but she already had other plans. It was not often that she had a free evening and she was taking advantage of it to have a night out with her pureblood old lady friends. She was, however, there to help them get the children ready.

        Narcissa and Draco finished dressing the children and deposited them in the drawing room. Lyra’s hair had an extra strong styling charm on it tonight, making it hard to the touch, but combined with the poufy ivory colored gown, it created the visual look of a princess. That and Narcissa had added a borrowed tiara to her head. Cassy’s gown was ivory too and just as extravagant looking, with lace roses along the waist and real ivory colored roses weaved into her coiffed hair. Cassy, though younger, was the more graceful of the two and carried herself like a real princess. Carina’s dress was shorter, but ivory with a poufy skirt. The baby was on the round, chubby side and the puffy lace emphasized that point.

        The boys all looked dashing in forest green dress robes trimmed with ivory colored edging. The Malfoy crest was embroidered in crème above the left breast and they each had brand new crème colored loafers. Brax had his blond hair perfectly styled, while the rest of the boys all had new extra short haircuts, so that they wouldn’t look sloppy. Cael had complained about having to have his hair cut when Brax didn’t, but Brax could manage his hair and Cael didn’t seem to know what a comb was. Draco said it was either slicking it back or cutting it and Harry ruled for cutting, because of his dislike of hair grease.

        Meanwhile Harry was running around, making sure he had everything he needed for the evening in the one nappy bag. There wasn’t just the one baby who needed nappies and bottles; Aries would definitely need a change of clothes to eat in and a spare nappy. A spare pair of underpants for the barely potty-trained Cyg was always a good idea. With Lyra a hair-crisis was a frequent occurrence, hence the need for a hat and brush. All of these things Harry gathered into the nappy bag.

        Harry thought he had everything ready to go, but then he realized he’d forgotten his watch and cufflinks and had to run back upstairs to grab them. In ensuring that he was prepared for having the children, he’d neglected to finish dressing himself.

        While Harry was upstairs, Andy flooed into the drawing room.

        “Harry, Gran’s here. We gotta go!” Teddy called up to him, just like he would’ve done at home.

        “Teddy, first of all gotta is not a word. It’s got to. Secondly, I told you about saying got. Third, we do not yell up the stairs, but walk up and quietly fetch the required wizard,” Draco corrected.

        “Wha’am I ‘posed to say?” Teddy asked.

        “The word is supposed. You are supposed to say have. We have to go,” Draco explained patiently.

        Teddy rolled his eyes at that.

        “Teddy, we do not roll our eyes in this house,” Draco warned sternly. “It’s very disrespectful. Now I have been more than patient with you and haven’t even given you a timeout for language yet, but it is coming. Eye rolling, however, will have you confined to the third floor landing for an hour. Cael can tell you all about the third floor landing; he was just there yesterday.”

        “Teddy, didn’t we talk about this?” Andy asked, stepping forward and taking her grandson by the shoulder. “You need to listen and be respectful in Lord Malfoy’s manor.”

        “Yes, but Gran, all I did was roll m’ eyes,” Teddy whined.

        “Whining is also not tolerated,” Draco added. “Are you tired Teddy? In this house children who whine lie down and take a nap.”

        “No, I’m bored,” Teddy replied, but stood up straighter.

        “What’s going on down here?” Harry asked, coming down the stairs while fastening his cufflinks.

        “Teddy needs to work on the G-word some more and he’s not used to the strict rules of the Manor,” Andy answered.

        “Andy, even two-year-old Cassy has learned to follow our rules; perhaps it’s time you were stricter yourself,” Narcissa said sagely. Sure Cassy whined occasionally, but only when she was tired and then she was put down for a nap.

        “Right, well we don’t have time for this discussion right now. Come on, we have to go,” Harry said, motioning everyone towards the floo.

        Harry had had this talk with Draco before, but was completely shot down. He had one child, Teddy, for an average of one day per week. Draco had eight children seven days a week. The two situations couldn’t be handled the same. Without rigid discipline and the children jumping to do as they are told the first time they are told, one person could never manage it. Draco’s punishments were mild anyway, with most offenses receiving a short timeout and there was never any corporal punishment. Still there would be a lot less punishment if Harry had his way. But since He was late to the game and the rules already established, he didn’t seem likely to get his way.

        Harry picked up Aries and grabbed hold of Cassy’s hand, but he fumbled the nappy bag. While Draco helped Harry, Andy took Carina through the floo, to wait for the rest of the children on the other side. Harry went through second.

        Cassy was screaming almost as soon as they stepped into the fire.

        “Daddy! Save me!” Cassy cried through her tears, holding onto Harry’s legs for dear life. Through it all, she maintained her perfect hair and didn’t squash the roses against his robes.

        “I got you Cassy,” Harry said reassuringly, picking his daughter up with his free arm.

        Aries patted Cassy on the back and said, “Dare Dare Cas,” before beginning to sing a song. The words were garbled, making it sound more like humming, but Harry recognized the tune as one Draco sang to the children.

        “We’re here,” Harry announced moments later, stepping out of the floo. “See, we’re here. There was never anything to worry about; it’s just the floo.”

        “Fi’wer gonna get us,” Cassy said through her tears, although it was difficult to hear her, because Aries had picked that moment to start screaming loudly.

        “Here, let me take him, Harry,” Andy said, stepping forward to take the toddler off of Harry’s hands.

        Molly was already there holding Carina with Arthur by her side. Andy had passed the baby off and was in perfect position to intercept Aries as Harry struggled to keep Cassy on his hip.

        Harry let Aries go, which only made the toddler cry more, but gave him a chance to use both hands to sooth Cassy. “That’s a girl, wipe those tears away. You’re Daddy’s princess and Daddy needs you to look beautiful at the ball,” Harry told his daughter.

        “Willya tell all the peo’le I’mma princess?” Cassy asked.

        “Sure will,” Harry answered, just as Aries let off another particularly loud wail.

        Cassy covered her ears with both hands to ward off the racket her brother was making, jostling the roses in her hair. At least she was no longer crying. “He hobeless. He cry all time,” Cassy told Harry.

        “Harry dear, it’s so good to see you and your little ones again,” Molly said, bouncing Carina to calm her from the upsetting floo journey. Tears were still glistening in Carina’s eyes, belying the fact that she’d cried through the journey as well.

        “Yes, it’s good to see you son,” Arthur greeted.

        “Oh here comes Teddy,” Andy announced.

        Harry returned the greetings and then turned towards the fireplace.

        Teddy came through with Cyg. Teddy was the most experienced with floo travel, so besides the three Harry and Andy had, he was bringing the next youngest. Cyg wasn’t too pleased about his first time traveling by floo and was a bit disorientated by the process. Luckily Arthur was there with his arms out to catch the dizzy toddler. Cyg’s eyes were watering and he was coughing profusely, but at least he wasn’t crying.

        Aries was still screaming. “Here, let me give it a try,” Molly said to Andy. The two witches switched babies, with Andy taking Carina and Molly taking Aries.

        Scorp came through the floo next holding Lyra’s hand, followed by Cael with Brax. Scorp and Cael used the floo about a dozen times every year, so they had some experience with it, but Lyra and Brax were both off balance and coughing from the journey.

        “That’s the lot of them, isn’t it?” Andy asked, taking Brax’s hand and balancing Carina on her other hip.

        “Yes. Molly you better let me have a try with Aries; he doesn’t seem to be calming down,” Harry said, putting Cassy down to take Aries.

        Molly took Carina back from Andy and Andy picked Cassy up, straightening the roses in the toddler’s hair. Harry bounced and rocked Aries, murmuring reassuring words into his ear, but still Aries cried.

        While the adults shuffled children around and tried to stop the crying, Teddy asked Cael, “What’s on the third floor?”

        “The third floor landing,” Cael corrected, “and absolutely nothing, if you are lucky. I wasn’t lucky. Madam Loryn’s portrait was there.” Even if the portrait wasn’t there, the punishment was rather miserable, because there was absolutely nothing to do up in the empty room all by oneself.

        “Who’s Madam Loryn?” Teddy asked in reply.

        “Some hor’ble old schoolmar’; she’s a nigh’mare with her rules of proper grammar and ed’kit. Trust me, you don’t wanta get sent there.”

        Teddy nodded and made a mental note to try harder. He loved Malfoy Manor, he just didn’t like all of the rules.

        Harry tried singing Aries a song, like Draco often did, but had no success. “I don’t understand; he never cries like this for Draco,” Harry said exasperated.

        “Perhaps you better take him back home,” Molly replied, Lyra by her side. “The first floo travel can be upsetting.”

        “Father won’t like tha’. Lemme try,” Lyra said, pulling away from Molly.

        Harry didn’t think Lyra would be able to do what none of the adults could do, but he knew he had to give her a chance to try. At Malfoy Manor the older children often looked after the younger ones. He’d seen Brax do amazing things with a brush to the other children’s hair and he’d seen Lyra sooth many a tear away, while Scorp was good at keeping them in line and playing nicely together. Lyra was especially good with the youngest two and had a fondness for babies. That was a good thing, given the size of the family she was born into.

        Harry put Aries down on the floor in front of Lyra’s open arms. She hugged her brother and started singing a pureblood lullaby in a soothing voice; the same lullaby Aries had sung to Cassy minutes before. Aries stopped screaming almost immediately and his tears slowly stopped trickling down his face.

        “I tried that!” Harry protested. It just wasn’t fair that Draco had left him to take care of all of the children alone.

        “You didn’t try the right song. It has to be the one Father sings to us,” Brax said with a shrug.

        “Right, well we best get a move on. Ron and Hermione are around here somewhere,” Arthur said.

        Harry picked Aries back up and told Lyra to stay with him. Molly told Cael to stay with her and Baby Carina. Andy had Brax and Cassy. Arthur took Cyg, Teddy, and Scorp. And then the group made their way into the party. Harry saw Ron’s red hair sticking out over the crowd and steered the group in that direction. Hermione bustled in and took Lyra’s and Brax’s hands, giving Andy and Harry more hands to deal with the toddlers. Cael and Teddy left their adults in favor of Ron, evening out the child to adult distribution.

        Harry noticed the stares and whispers. Every head in the place seemed to be on them, looking over each and every child. The kids were impeccably dressed, Draco and Narcissa saw to that before letting them out of the Manor, so that couldn’t be why they were drawing attention.

        “Pardon me,” Kingsley Shacklebolt’s booming voice called out and then Kingsley’s impressive figure cut through the crowd. “Ah Harry, who have you brought with you tonight?”

        “My children Minister,” Harry replied with a smile and then began introductions, calling the children by only their first names, because he still didn’t have all of their middle names straight.

        “Wonderful. And if you don’t mind my asking, where did you get all of these children from? I recognize Teddy and several of the others do look just like you, but you haven’t mentioned children before. I thought you were with Ginny,” Kingsley said.

        “We broke up. These are my children with Draco Malfoy. He’s recently agreed to let me take them out in public. He was afraid they might be gawked at, if he were to let them go out. Sort of like what is happening now,” Harry replied.

        “So sorry about that Harry, but people are curious you know. If you took the stage and made an announcement, it might help alleviate the gossip. Or it could backfire and jump start it; you never know,” Kingsley advised.

        “I’ll take the stage. My little princess asked to be formally introduced to my adoring public,” Harry replied, inclining his head towards Cassy.

        “And what a beautiful princess she is! And what’s that, another princess over there and a third in Molly’s arms? However did you become so lucky?” Kingsley asked jovially. He was good with kids.

        And so Harry took the stage in front of the dinner tables. It was nothing more than a raised pulpit for Kingsley to make his short before dinner speech, but it would have to do. He removed the lectern, so that the shorter children could be seen. Then he gave a brief and very lacking explanation, before calling up his children one at a time, including Teddy, to make formal introductions to the wizarding world. Then he asked the crowd to please let him and his children enjoy the gala without bothering or questioning them. Some of the people respected his wishes, but the reporters did not. He had to promise one reporter an interview in hopes of getting the lot to back off, but that didn’t work.

        Rita Skeeter managed to worm her way to the forefront, right up next to the children. “How long have you known Harry Potter was your daddy?” she asked the children.

        “I’ve known all along,” Scorp replied, being one of the closest kids to her.

        That statement only fanned the flame of questions, half of which had to do with the fact that there were six more Malfoy children than the Ministry had birth certificates for. Accusations of hiding the children were thrown at Harry along with everything else the reporters could think of, none of which were things he wanted his children to hear. He wanted to protect the kids from the onslaught, but that was a difficult task and he wished Draco was there to help him. Add in the fact that Aries had started crying again and it was mayhem.

        Harry couldn’t help but think that maybe this wouldn’t be such a big deal, if Draco had just come out and admitted the existence of the children from the beginning. If only Draco had more courage, this story wouldn’t be half so big. But Draco had never had much courage and he’d been through a lot. It was enough that Draco had done such a splendid job raising the children; asking him to brave public scrutiny on top of it all was too much. Thus Harry had to remind himself not to be too cross at Draco for putting him in this situation, because after all, Draco had had so little control over it.

        One of the nice things about the Weasleys, is that there are a lot of them and they protect their own. By this point, Ginny, Bill, George, Angelina, and even Percy were making their way towards Harry, having left Bill and Percy’s wives behind to watch their own five children. Harry’s friends Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan stepped forward to help, as well as Draco’s friends Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini. Then there were the Aurors who volunteered to help. Together they surrounded the children and isolated them from the reporters. Plus Harry threatening bodily harm to Skeeter if she didn’t back away from his kids immediately seemed to have a positive effect on keeping the other reporters in line.

        It was difficult, but the large group was able to slowly migrate out to the atrium, Harry all the while trying to sing a song he barely knew in hopes of quieting his youngest son. There was a small garden in the atrium and Kingsley gave permission for it to be closed off, to give Harry and the children some space. The wives and children of the men who had come to their rescue were allowed in, swelling their numbers further. The Malfoy children had some opportunities to mingle with the other children, but mostly Harry kept them close by his side, especially Lyra, who was helping him sing to Aries.

        Then Daphne Nott, Theo Nott’s wife, came bustling up with an eighteen-month-old in her arms and a three-year-old clinging to her skirts. “Here, let me calm him. Aries is it? Auntie Daphne can sing the dragon song as well as anyone,” she said and began to sing. She had a lovely calming voice.

        With Lyra and Harry’s singing, Aries had stopped screaming, but he was still quietly sobbing, tears streaming down his cheeks. Now he reached his little arms out to this strange lady he’d never met, as if he wanted to be picked up. Daphne put her own son down and reached out for Aries. Her husband had come to their aid fending off the reporters and Draco counted the Nott’s amongst his friends, so Harry handed his son over. Aries laid his head down on her bosom as she sang, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

        “My husband and I were close with Draco in school. He pushed us away like everyone else, but still wrote occasionally. We were shocked beyond belief last week when he wrote us with the news. I wrote back asking if we could come over for a visit, but he declined. I had the impression that he was overwhelmed with it all. He mentioned you planned on bringing them tonight, so Theo and I had to come.”

        What Daphne said fit perfectly with what Harry knew about Draco. Draco had been close with the Notts, especially Daphne, and had recently been considering inviting them over to the Manor. Draco hadn’t yet gotten up the courage to do it and after seeing how good Daphne was with her own two children as well as his, he was going to encourage Draco to do so. She had a sweet little three-year-old girl and a shy little boy Aries’ age and would fit right in.

        Harry thanked Daphne for her and her husband’s help and allowed her to take his sleeping toddler over to a nearby bench to sit. Lyra went with her, not wanting to leave her baby brother with someone she didn’t know. Harry turned his attention to his remaining children and the crowd of witches and wizards that didn’t know them, but should.

        Harry was in the middle of individually introducing the children to the rest of the Weasleys when the announcement came that Kingsley was ready to start his before dinner speech. They waited until the majority of guests were already seated and the speech was ending, before the lot of them went back inside. Harry wasn’t at the head table with Minister Shacklebolt and the Wizengamot, but it seemed as if all eyes were on his table as he and the Weasleys sat down with their children. A few Aurors volunteered to stand duty around the table, to rebuff the reporters, while the rest of their entourage took their designated seats.

        Daphne handed Aries back to Harry to take her own seat and the toddler woke during the transfer. He patted Aries to make sure the tears weren’t going to start back up. Dinner was served and everyone dug in. He removed his son’s dress robes, slipping Aries into a plain set of robes that he wouldn’t mind being destroyed, and added a large bib. Then he put Aries into the booster seat next to him. He cut the toddler’s food up into small pieces and handed his son a baby spoon. Aries took the spoon and reached out with his free hand to grab a piece of chicken, which he ate with a smile. Harry was hopeful that the earlier fit was just due to hunger and that he’d have no more problems through dinner, so he turned to his own plate to eat.

        It was impossible to say who started it, but when Harry’s turned back, Aries and Little Fred had slipped under the table to play. George pulled the barely three-year-old Fred up, sat him back down, and ordered him to eat. Harry tried to do the same with Aries, but his son was half of Fred’s age and didn’t yet know how to behave at the dinner table. He knew Aries didn’t behave like this at home with Draco, but then Draco always strapped the toddler into the highchair for mealtimes. The gala didn’t have highchairs and Aries’ booster seat simply wasn’t able to adequately restrain him. They only had booster seats and the type of babyseat that hooks on the edge of the table here, not proper highchairs. Hooking Carina onto the edge of the table was fine, but Aries was too big for that.

        Arthur Weasley volunteered to take Aries outside for a walk so that the rest of them could enjoy their meal. Percy Weasley’s youngest daughter Molly was about the same age and not doing too much better with the arrangement, so Percy took her out as well. And since the reporters were still around, a few Aurors went with them.

        Harry very much appreciated the help, but was embarrassed by his son’s behavior. Then he looked over at Cyg, who was the same age as Fred, and eating quietly. Cyg had his utensils in the correct hands, with his meat cut up into neat little chunks and everything. Cassy had struggled with her meat, but one of the adults had helped her and was otherwise eating like a proper little princess. All of the other Malfoy children too were eating like well-trained pureblood children, making the Weasley children look like heathens in comparison. Ron, given that he was an adult, looked particularly bad shoveling down his food. Thus Harry started to think that maybe it wasn’t such a big deal if one child out of the bunch had acted up.

        Before the end of dinner, Carina was asleep, resting her head on Molly’s bosom. The five-month-old was eating mashed foods, which Molly had spoon fed her. The baby had started yawning when Molly was cleaning her up, hence her current state of slumber. The group migrated back to the atrium, joining Arthur and Percy with the toddlers for a bit of after dinner chat. Aries was asleep again, this time on Arthur’s shoulder, emphasizing the fact that having young children around was old hat to the Weasley patriarch.

        The Aurors let in several more of Harry’s closest acquaintances and he continued to make introductions to his children. Cassy was dead on her feet, leaning into Harry’s side, clutching his robes with her eyes closed, barely waving when Harry called her name. The other children didn’t seem to want to stay put, always running off to play tag. Harry grew used to picking the children out of the moving mass to name them, although, he did on occasion resort to just naming the group and not pointing the individuals out. Bill and Percy’s daughters Victoire, Domonique, and Lucy, along with George’s Fred had joined in the mix, so there were even more children than usual.

        “Ow!” Lyra cried as she fell. She scrapped her knee, breaking open her tights, which had been put on her in the first place to cover up her scraped knees. “Daddy!”

        Harry rushed over to his daughter, performing charms to clean and bandage the wound. “No more tag tonight,” he declared to a round of complaints from the children.

        The group of children broke apart and began looking for other things to do. Brax latched himself onto Angelina, whom Fred had just gotten away from. She was married to George now, with just one young son.

        “Wow! I love your hair,” Brax exclaimed. “Can I touch it?

        “Yeah, alright,” Angelina replied, bending her head down to let Brax reach.

        “Brilliant. Do you think you could teach me how to do hair like yours?” Brax asked.

        “I don’t think your hair is quite long enough,” Angelina replied.

        “Not on me, silly. I want to do Lyra’s hair like this! What’s it called?”

        “Braids. Which one is Lyra again?”

        “My oldest sister. She lets me do her hair,” Brax said with a shrug.

        “Alright, well next time you and Lyra come over to the Burrow when I’m there, I’ll teach you,” Angelina offered. “But now I have to get little Fred home to bed.”

        It was growing late, so Harry was bundling up his children too. This time around it was harder, because the children were sleeping, injured, or exhausted. But it was made easier by Ron, Hermione, Arthur, and Molly, who along with Harry and Andy, each took an exhausted child. The oldest three were still made to travel alone without an adult, but Teddy, Scorp, and Cael made it back to the Manor in one piece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m having particular trouble nailing Carina down, because she’s so little. I want her to be talented in some way, but as the baby girl of the lot, she’ll also be the over indulged one. Still I want her to be smart and likeable, and not the Pansy Parkinson of the bunch, although she will be best friends with Pansy’s daughter. If there’s anyone who thinks they have a handle on who Carina is and what makes her special, let me know. 
> 
> It might help you to know who the other children are, so here is a short list:  
> Scorp is the leader, bold, daring, and calculating Slytherin (Draco). Cael is the brave reckless Gryffindor who likes to go on dangerous adventures (Harry). Brax is gay, stylish, smart, morally conscious, and a Ravenclaw (Draco/Hermione). Lyra is the caring tom-boy, who prefers to be with the boys; I’m thinking she’d make a good healer and mother (Hermione/Lily). Cyg is the classic Hufflepuff middle child; mediocre at everything, excels at nothing, except for his business partnership with Fred Weasley II (George/Ron). Cassy is the graceful Slytherin girly-girl, with a knack for fashion, style, and dancing (Narcissa). Aries is the gay, backwards, musical, artistic Slytherin who dances to the beat of his own drum (Luna). The new baby will also be a Ravenclaw genius, but of a different flavor; invents spells, good at potions, and the reluctant hero (Snape). 
> 
> But who will Carina be? I have some of the pieces, but what should she be good at or enjoy doing? Who do you see her as? Which house will she be in? What is her magical specialty? There are metamorphmagi (Tonks and Teddy), animagi (James and Sirius), and parselmouths (Harry) in the family, so maybe she could have an extra magical ability, but what would it be? If she does have one, I want it to be something different. She’ll be stunning with her blond hair and green eyes and be the most intelligent of the three girls, but what else is there to her? What type of job will she have when she grows up? Who will she be like?


	10. Chapter10

            **Eight Potter/Malfoy Love Children at Ministry Gala**

 

            That was the headline of the next morning’s Daily Prophet. The article went on to tell a completely fabricated story about Auror Harry Potter and Lord Draco Malfoy’s secret and long lasting affair. It started in nineteen ninety-seven back when Scorpius Malfoy was mysteriously conceived during the war. It continued in nineteen ninety-eight when Caelum Malfoy was conceived inside the Ministry holding facility; Harry’s insistent searching for the father was an elaborate cover-up all along. After Draco Malfoy was released in nineteen ninety-nine, the affair went on behind Ginny Weasley’s back; likely made easier by Ginny Weasley’s intensive touring schedule with the Holyhead Harpies. The affair continued right up until present, with a new child born every year to the couple.

            It was all hushed up, so that Harry Potter could keep the affair secret from his long term girlfriend, Ginevra Weasley. The cover up had only ended now, because Ginevra Weasley had walked in on Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter in the mist of their lovemaking. Ginevra Weasley had called off her looming wedding to Harry Potter the moment she found out, which was why Harry Potter was coming forward with the children now. Draco Malfoy was not present at the gala, because he was very heavily pregnant with Harry Potter’s triplets. It was supported by Scorpius Malfoy’s quote that he knew all along, which was offset in enlarged letters, so that the eyes of anyone just glancing at the article would jump to it. It was written by Rita Skeeter and came complete with a dozen photos of Harry and the children during the gala.

            That was the first of a long list of Malfoy children centered news articles. It was followed up by more speculation and more photos from the gala. The Quibbler was the first to break the news that Harry Potter had only cheated on Ginevra Weasley once with Draco Malfoy. The torrid love affair had conceived Scorpius Malfoy, but the other children were all the result of a runaway male pregnancy ritual. It was unheard of for more than an extra two children to be produced, but when dealing with Harry Potter, the exception was to be expected. Harry Potter had agreed to the male pregnancy ritual with his lover, because of his fear that he wouldn’t survive the war; he’d wanted to leave behind an heir to finish the job if he didn’t manage to kill Voldemort.

            Harry decided to go with Xenophilius Lovegood’s version of events, because it kept Voldemort’s name out of the conception of his children, without painting him as a horrid cheat. Draco had told the children the truth about their conception and up until now, it had been widely believed that his first child had been created by Voldemort using some unknown Death Eater’s semen. Draco really didn’t have a problem with telling that part of the story, but Harry preferred to let people think his children were conceived in love rather than in evil. Therefore when Harry did get around to responding to reporter inquiries, he basically just confirmed Lovegood’s account and said to read the Quibbler for more inside information.

            Once old Rita Skeeter realized she had been scooped by a less sensational rendition of the story, she dug up everything she could find out about the Malfoy children. There were records of Scorpius and Caelum Malfoy. Yearly photographs of the oldest two Malfoy children turned up revealing children who looked healthy and happy, if a bit poor. The children were always dressed their best when they went out, so there was nothing too horrible in the photos. It was clear, however, that the Malfoy children were quite poor and that Harry Potter was not properly providing for them.

            From there Rita Skeeter only got more vicious. The hag actually managed to get interviews with the guards of Azkaban prison who had seen the Malfoy children visiting Lucius Malfoy. The dementors were gone, so there were proper wizards guarding the prisoners now. Those guards had witnessed eight very shabby looking children arrive into the Azkaban yard via a special portkey. The consensus from the guards seemed to be that all of the Malfoys showed up in rags twice a year to visit Lucius Malfoy. At least no one had taken any pictures of it.

            “I remember one year I saw Lord Malfoy with a little black haired baby. Its hair was a mess, but the clothes looked presentable, that’s why I remembered it. It was a yellow set of pajamas with a duck on the front, nothing fancy and it didn’t look new, but it wasn’t too bad. Then the next year Lord Malfoy came back with a new black haired baby, wearing the same pajamas! It wasn’t the same kid, because the other one was there too and a year older. The following year, Lord Malfoy came back with a third black haired baby, wearing the same pajamas. Then last year there was a little blond baby, again wearing the same yellow ducky pajamas! I swear he only had the one presentable outfit of each size and was pulling it out especially for their biannual visits,” one particularly observant guard was quoted as saying.

            When Harry asked Draco about it, Draco had denied taking the children out in rags, but did confirm the story about saving a few descent pieces of clothing for their excursions. The yellow pajamas were ratty now and had been retired, but luckily Harry had already given Draco new clothes for Carina before their most recent trip. Carina had been dressed in a new pink jumpsuit this year. Harry noticed that Skeeter didn’t mention the fact that the Malfoys had all shown up in fairly new decent looking clothes for their latest visit.

            Of course the papers blamed Harry for neglecting his children. Draco and the children were matters of public curiosity, but Harry was the one who had cheated on Ginny, abandoned Draco and the children, and left the Malfoys in squalor. It didn’t matter to Skeeter and the other reporters that Harry was trying to make up for the neglect now by buying the children everything they needed. Now Ginny knew his secret, so it didn’t matter if he doted on the children; before, when he was keeping the children locked away and out of sight, that was what really counted.

            What bothered Harry the most was the article that accused him of defrauding the Ministry. During all of these years without Harry around Draco had received twenty galleons per month and medical insurance for Caelum. As Cael’s biological father, Harry should have been paying for that all along, not footing it off on the Ministry to pay. Of course Harry didn’t know he was Cael’s father at the time and now he was perfectly willing to repay the Ministry, but he refused to explain to the papers why he had done it in the first place.

            After the article in the Quibbler, Harry had confirmed that he had willingly and knowingly created Scorpius with Draco. Maybe Harry might have been confused when Caelum came along without repeating the ritual, but after Abraxas was born in a year Draco hadn’t been raped or tortured by anyone, Harry really should have figured out that Cael and Brax, like Scorp, were his. Harry didn’t want everyone to know that Draco had kept the existence of the youngest six children from him, so instead he stewed in silence and left the papers to speculate.

            Of course Harry’s boss wanted to see him after that particular Skeeter classic. Bourke Covington was the new head Auror and had only been in the position half a year now. He was Harry’s old partner from his training days and Bourke said he couldn’t be seen playing favorites with Harry. Of course Bourke didn’t think that Harry was guilty of fraud and believed Harry that it was all a misunderstanding. Harry agreed to get it cleared up and if he did, Bourke would leave it at that.

            Getting the child support debt cleared turned out to be complicated and involved a ton of forms. Harry ended up hiring his regular tax attorney, Mr. Shafiq, to do it for him, especially because he needed his past six years of taxes re-filed with more dependents. By the time Mr. Shafiq got it all added up and the proper forms filled out, it worked out that the Ministry actually owed Harry back far more money in over-collected taxes than Harry owed in past child support payments. The medical insurance canceled itself out, because as a Ministry employee, Harry’s children were entitled to Ministry health insurance.

            Tonight when Harry arrived at the Malfoy Manor after a long day of detective work at the Ministry, Draco was waiting for him with Aries on his hip, who was nursing. Aries didn’t nurse much, but he still drank from Draco at least once a day. The other children were all outside, playing on the playground or riding their bikes, except for Carina, who was in the muggle toy seat playing.

            “Harry, I think I should tell you about something,” Draco said as Harry leaned in and gave Aries a kiss on his head.

            Draco was just starting to show and Harry almost reached his hand out to touch the swell of his unborn child, but he stopped himself before it was too late. Ever since the rape at the Ministry, Draco didn’t like being touched, especially by men. Narcissa and the children could touch Draco without a reaction, but not even they dared being too touchy feely with him. Harry had asked Narcissa about it and she had confirmed that Draco still gets overwhelmed by too much touching, even from them, but that Draco absolutely can’t stand to be touched by strange men, even briefly on the hand. Draco hadn’t come into contact with very many men since the rape, but there were the two visitors from the Ministry and lots of guards at Azkaban whose hands Draco really should have offered to shake, but hadn’t.

            “Alright, what is it?” Harry asked, picking Carina up from the muggle entertainer.

            If they were leaving the room without an adult, it was best to take the two babies with them. Cassy and Cyg were playing outside with the rest of the kids, but the older children could watch out for them alright. And if something did happen, Scorp and Cael were always really good about alerting an adult right away.

            Draco started walking upstairs with Aries and Harry followed with Carina. “I should have refused it, I know. Malfoy pride dictates that I refuse something like this and send it back. But I haven’t refused anything in so long and it _is_ just so nice that I set it up and told Cassy and Lyra they could keep it. I thought you ought to know; I’m sure you will find out soon enough anyway.”

            “What is it?” They were at the top of the landing now and heading right, towards the girl’s room.

            “I think this is partly my fault. You know how the papers started saying all of those awful things about you abandoning us to live in squalor without child support?”

            “Yes, what did you do?” Harry asked warily. Draco had paused just outside of the door to the girl’s room.

            “Well Rita Skeeter sent me a letter, addressed to me, not you; I didn’t steal your mail.”

            “Please tell me you didn’t talk to Skeeter!” Harry exclaimed exasperated. Draco swallowed and gave a curt nod. “Why? I _hate_ that woman. I don’t want you to tell her _anything_ about us.”

            “Well her family and my family are old friends. Her older sister went to school with my mother. She’s always been good to our family and published pro-Death Eater stuff back when our family was into that sort of thing.”

            “Of course. And I bet her husband and your dad were old drinking buddies too or something like that. I’m sure after they left the pub they tortured muggles together for fun.”

            “Not quite, but you seem to have the picture.”

            “Great. Just great. What did you tell her?”

            “Well she said she had a lot of readers who were writing in wanting to get our children gifts. The announcement of the arrival of a new pureblood is typically accompanied by gifts. All of the other pureblood families send things, trying to compete for favor and standing. With announcing six new Malfoy children and eight new Savior spawn, it’s understandable that there have been such inquiries.”

            “Alright, gifts, right. What did you tell her you wanted?”

            “I shouldn’t have written it; I realized that half an hour after I sent the owl off and it was already too late. It’s just that for the past six years I’ve taken whatever anyone has been willing to give us without complaint. I reacted on autopilot before realizing that we have you now and that it’d be better if other people didn’t realize we were so bad off before.”

            “ _What_ did you write Draco? You still haven’t told me.”

            “I wrote her that you had just gotten our boys new furniture sets, but that our girls could use new sets too. The ones you got are nice, but they are really little boy sets. One piece of furniture is within the typical price range for the gifts and I immediately thought of it. In hindsight I should have asked for absolutely extravagant things like silver rattles and unicorn fur blankets. Maybe brooms for the older children; you know, things we don’t need. But I wasn’t thinking and I was still on dirt poor mode; it’s harder to turn off than I thought.”

            “Calm down and just relax, Draco. I assume it’s through this door; can I see?”

            “Yes, you might as well,” Draco said opening the door. Harry entered the room and looked around while Draco continued to speak. “They were mostly from your friends, so you might want to send thank you cards of your own. I’ve already written mine up, but I didn’t send them yet.”

            The room was filled with a white wooden furniture set with pink heart accents painted on. There was a bunk bed complete with princess bedclothes and matching sheer pink lace curtains for the bed and windows. There were matching wardrobes, chests of drawers, bedside tables, bookshelves, and toy chests; two of each of course. The only thing there was one of in the room was a vanity desk with a large mirror; it was perfect for little princesses to play dress-up with. It was a lot of new furniture, but it was a very generously sized room and it all fit inside nicely. It made the room look better, because before it had looked empty and with Harry’s duplicated furniture and Draco’s duplicated linens.

            “I put the other furniture up in the attic,” Draco said, seemingly thinking about the same thing.

            “Why? It’s duplicated furniture; shouldn’t you vanish it, to stabilize the other duplicates? The fewer duplicates the more stable.”

            “You can’t just vanish a duplicate; it doesn’t work like that. You can’t undo the duplication charm. The items are forever linked, so that damage to one seeps in and eventually corrupts all. That’s what got the toddler beds; eventually the damage sustained to each individually added up and combined to jeopardize the internal structure.”

            “Are you sure? I’ve always thought vanishing a duplicate undoes the duplication.”

            “No, vanishing the duplicate can lead to the original disappearing; that’s what happened to the changing table. I ended up with more nappies than could fit in just one and with three babies, I thought it would be nice to put a second changing table downstairs. It was fine for years, but when Lyra was a baby it was in bad shape, because it was muggle and cheaply made. It started disintegrating, especially the one that was down in the drawing room, because the kids collided with it often. One day it broke so badly I couldn’t repair it. I vanished it and duplicated the other one to replace it. There was another duplicate for a moment, before both copies flashed out of existence.”

            “That’s too bad. I guess you’ve really become an expert on duplication charms.”

            “I had to be. After the first bed I tried to duplicate went wrong and produced a pair of beds damaged so severely that they weren’t salvageable, I picked up a book on duplicating theory and taught myself.”

            “Which beds are you talking about? The toddler beds?”

            “No, the regular single bed you brought us over from your house. It was a Black family heirloom, so Mother and I were sore to lose it, but there was nothing that could be done to salvage it. That’s why we had to duplicate the large bed into three, so that we all had a place to sleep.”

            “Right. And you have to keep any excess duplicates?”

            “Yes and keep them in a safe location, so that they aren’t damaged,” Draco confirmed. “But don’t worry, because eventually Aries and Carina will need beds too.”

            “And the next one too,” Harry agreed. “So who all sent this? And if it didn’t come from one person, why does it all match?”

                        “The Lovegoods sent the first piece—the bunk bed—to thank you for supporting the Quibbler’s version of events and giving them more details than the Prophet had. You helped them sell a lot of magazines and it sounded like his daughter considers you a personal friend. He wanted to show you how much he appreciates you; hence, the largest piece. The Lovegoods started it off so when the Longbottoms went in next, the owner of the shop already knew what set to sell Augusta; she bought the vanity, to thank you for all of the help you have given her grandson. The chests of drawers came from the MacDougals, who claimed to know you from work—”

            Harry interrupted Draco, “Isobel MacDougal is an Auror. She was one of the junior training guards and you were always talking about how nice she was to you.”

            “Yes, I remember Isobel; I didn’t realize she was a MacDougal.”

            “Yes, well it’s nice of her and her family to send something.”

            “It is. Mrs. Shacklebolt, as in the Minister for Magic’s wife, sent the wardrobes. She must like buying frilly dresses, because they each came with a few.” As Draco spoke, he pulled open the doors to one of the wardrobes and revealed a neat row of fancy dresses in white, beige, yellow, pink, red, lilac, and lavender. “It’s not unheard of for rich old ladies to send their favorite thing along with the gift. I think dresses really are Mrs. Shacklebolt’s favorite, because there are another set of similar dresses for Cassy in the other wardrobe and she sent a dozen dresses for Carina. Can you picture sending a baby a dozen ridiculous frilly poufy dresses? She’ll never have occasion to wear them all before she outgrows them.”

            “Well maybe the next one will be a girl too and we’ll be able to use them.”

            “It’s possible, but male pregnancies do tend to produce a slightly higher proportion of boys than straight pairings.”

            “Oh, is that why only three out of our eight have been girls?”

            “Yes. Now what did I forget to tell you about? Oh yes, the toy chests came from George, Angelina, Bill, and Fleur Weasley. I think Fleur bought them and George filled them with toys. I told the children they can’t have anything in there until after you check everything out and make sure it’s safe. I remember the last time I was at that joke shop they were selling telescopes that punched you when you looked through them; it’s likely that there are dangerous things in there.”

            “Ly and Cassy got new toys and the boys didn’t? That’s not fair. If it’s stuff from the joke shop, I can go pick up some for the boys of the same items. Otherwise, I could ask George where he went shopping.”

            “There are toys for all of the kids. There are only toy chests for Cassy and Ly, but inside each are four boxes of toys, each with a different name on them. I didn’t want to go through it and get hurt myself, but it looks like he made an effort to buy gifts that are both gender and age specific.”

            “Now that sounds like Angelina’s doing. George probably supplied all of the WWW merchandise and Angelina filled in the rest.”

            “Well the kids were excited about it. Ly was most excited about the dresses and Cassy the vanity, but the rest of them are waiting for those toys. The Weasley gift actually made the Abbott family gift that arrived behind it seem like a letdown.”

            “What did Hannah get then? Haven’t we already covered everything in the room?”

            “No, but we’re getting there. The Abbotts sent the bedside tables. The bedclothes, however, came from my family.”

            “Your family?”

            “The Rosiers and Crabbes are related on my mother’s side. The Goyles and the Flints are related on my father’s side. The Mulcibers and Notts are old family friends and my horrible aunt Bella was married into the Lestranges. None of their families came out of the war with their family members or Gringotts vaults intact, but they’ve all sent me small things for Scorp and Cael before. They didn’t know about the other six and they could never afford to send much, but they, more than anyone else in the wizarding world, knew that Mother and I were poorly off. Their small gifts helped me get by before and if we really needed something we couldn’t afford, we’d turn to them.

            “They still can’t afford extravagant gifts now, but they each purchased a set of linens, except for Mrs. Lestrange,” Draco continued, Aries still suckling at his breast. “Mrs. Lestrange purchased both crib sets; she’s doing a bit better than the others, because she publically went on record claiming that she was always in total disagreement with her two sons and her daughter-in-law. Of course she never stood up to them, but she was old and the Ministry saw fit not to completely wipe the old woman out.”

            “What crib sets? There aren’t any cribs in here and I only see two sets of bedclothes; that isn’t much for all of those families to have purchased together.”

            “Oh, there aren’t just the two sets; there are eight complete sets, one for each child. Mother and I already set up the boy’s beds and the cribs with the new sets. And Mrs. Crabbe sent a few spare white sheets as well; I think she remembers what it’s like to have a toddler who wets the bed. I swear Vince must have wet the bed until he was nearly off to Hogwarts.”

            “Seriously? Crabbe was a bed wetter?” Harry asked chuckling.

            Harry was quickly becoming aware of the many issues with bed wetting. When he came over early on weekends, Cyg and his wet bed had to be cleaned up before breakfast. Draco had shown Harry how to cast the charms to remove the odor, dry the bed, and freshen the toddler up. Harry had suggested using the overnight nappies muggles made for older children, but Draco had never heard of doing such a thing and Cyg had protested. Cyg didn’t want to look like a baby wearing nappies, especially because none of the other children had ever worn them.

            “Yes; that’s why Greg and I never wanted to have sleep overs with him.”

            “Right. Let’s go check out the other bed sets,” Harry suggested, taking Carina with him to the nursery. Draco had finished nursing Aries at set him down, so he toddled along beside them babbling happily.

            The new crib sets were certainly in better condition than the old ones, but Harry didn’t particularly care for either. One crib set was unicorns and the other was abraxans and they were both a bit loud and gaudy for a baby, although Aries seemed to like his. From there they went to Brax and Cyg’s room; the dragon sets were rather cool with flames extruding from the dragon’s mouth that writhed like a holographic projection. The bed and window curtains were a fiery red and combined with the golden hue of the dragons, it reminded Harry of Gryffindor colors, but he didn’t mention that to Draco. The new sets brought the room to life in a way that the plain old sets didn’t. Now the rooms no longer looked identical and it wasn’t blatantly obvious that all of the furniture was duplicated.

            Next they went to Scorp and Cael’s room. The battle scene between the dark wizards on one side and the light wizards on the other made Harry’s blood pressure rise as he prepared to spring into action. Only there was no more threat in the room than the ugly holographic fight scene depicted on the blanket. Harry didn’t know how anyone would ever be able to sleep with that on their beds, but at least the matching curtains were a nice shade of dark blue. Harry started making plans to buy matching plain blue bedspreads once Scorp and Cael start complaining of trouble sleeping. But at least the medieval style castle complete with princess in the background of the battling wizards gave Harry and idea.

            “Draco?”

            “Yes?”

            “Next time, could you tell Skeeter that our girls really need goblin made tiaras and our boys need goblin made swords?” Harry asked. “Or something equally outrageous and extravagant, as if the only thing I _haven’t_ provided was rare magical artifacts.”

            “Alright, if you will do a favor for me.”

            “What?”  
            “Get rid of the pet Bicorn your dear friend Professor Hagrid sent to be a pet for our children. I managed to chain it up outside, but Mother is deathly scared of the beast.”

            “He didn’t?” Harry asked with a gasp. Knowing Hagrid as he did, he probably should not have been surprised by the fact that Hagrid had sent the children such a dangerous and potentially lethal pet. Although, it did only kill married people and none of the children were married, nor were he or Draco. Draco’s mother was the only one on the property at any risk from the creature.

            “You know he did; giving a bicorn to a group of children isn’t my idea of amusement.”

            “I’ll get rid of it and have a talk with Hagrid. Maybe the Ministry will want it to harvest horns for polyjuice potion…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter Harry will visit Lucius and Brax will get glasses.  
> The highest number of votes was for Carina being able to talk to snakes/animals, so I’m going to see if that fits. I’m thinking she might start talking to the peacocks on the Manor grounds. 
> 
> Several people were concerned that I described Cygnus as the mediocre middle child. Maybe that was a little harsh, because Cyg isn’t dumb or talentless, but in this group he doesn’t stand out on either ground. Brax, Carina, and the new baby are all super intelligent geniuses when it comes to school. Scorp, Cael, and Lyra all have that Potter natural intelligence and don’t have to study and aren’t at all bookish. Now I didn’t describe Lyra as a genius and I don’t see her being as gifted as Harry’s mother, but she’s close.  
> In a group of nine children with 6 being highly intelligent, the only slightly above average Cyg looks mediocre. Cassy and Aries are both less intelligent, meaning average, when it comes to typical school learning, but they both have artistic and magical talents to offset that and make them stand out. So in that group, Cyg seems middle of the pack and even a little behind in some things, since he was the one born prematurely. It is only when the kids are older that they realize that Cyg is incredibly well-rounded, charismatic, out-going, and has a flair for business. I also see Cyg as one of those people who is always changing, never settling, so he might spend five years on a business venture with Fred II, then spend five years researching snails, and turn around and use the snail research to make better invisibility cloaks or something. Everything he does somehow turns to gold, bringing him in a profit. With all of those kids, they need someone to restore the family fortune and that someone is Cyg.


	11. Chapter11

            Draco, can I talk to you about something?” Harry asked, once he had successfully dressed Aries in his pajamas for bed. While he had handled the one squirming toddler, Draco had finished Cassy and Carina. Draco was now levitating toys back into the proper toy boxes and clothes into the laundry hamper. These days the children had so much stuff that the two old house elves couldn’t handle it all.

            “Yes. What about?” Draco asked curiously, while keeping an ear listen to the older children still bathing noisily.

            “Well I was wondering if this new baby could have my last name. The first eight all have your last name. I didn’t know they were mine when you named them, but I’d like at least one of them to have my name. I’m the last Potter and I don’t want my last name to die with me;” especially not when Harry had nine biological children.

            “You want me to give you one of my father’s heirs?” Draco asked confused, pausing with a pair of children’s underpants levitating in mid-air.

            “Your father already has eight heirs after you; he doesn’t need another one, so yes, I do.”

            “You’ll have to talk to him about that.”

            “What? No, it’s our child Draco; it’s your decision whose name we give him or her.”

            “The first and middle names, yes, but the last name is to be the same as my last name. If I were to deviate from that, I would need my father’s permission.”

            “But Lucius is in Azkaban,” Harry protested.

            “Yes, which means that if you want this baby to have your last name, you need to go to Azkaban and talk to my father. If the two of you come to an agreement, then it’s fine with me.”

            “What do you mean an agreement?”

            “Heirs aren’t usually free Harry. Purebloods place a great deal of value on an heir. You are asking my father to transfer one of the Malfoy heirs to the Potter family. Our heirs and our house are the only things of value we have left. I don’t imagine my father would just give such a valuable right away.”

            “Why does your father even have a say in this? They are our children—yours and mine—not his. Why can’t you agree? I admit I was a non-existent dad before, but I didn’t know they were mine. I’ve been trying my hardest to make up for that these past few months.” It was early March now and Harry had known he was the second father for only two months, but had been helping Draco out for three.

            “This isn’t about your parenting skills; an heir is a legal matter. I am not married, therefore any children I have are considered by the Ministry to be heirs of my family and no other. As the head of my family, my father has the right to govern his heirs, including the right to transfer an heir. Unless we marry before this child is born, which I have no intension of doing by the way, then the baby cannot be your heir without my father’s approval.”

            “So I have to talk to Lucius Malfoy,” Harry concluded.

            “Exactly.”

            “Great. Just great.” Harry could only imagine what Lucius Malfoy would have to say about the situation. “Does he even know I’m the dad?”

            “Yes. He does get the occasional Daily Prophet, but besides that, we all write to him on a regular basis. Actually Mother makes it part of their school exercises. After we found out, Scorp, Cael, Brax, and Lyra all wrote him letters about it. Mother and I wrote him as well.”

            “And what does he think about the fact that it’s me and that I’m not a pureblood?”

            “He said he was pleased.”

            “And you think he meant it?”

            “Well I haven’t had a chance to see him in person since finding out the news—they only let me visit twice a year—but I have no reason not to believe him. He’s stood by me and the children all these years and in his letter he wrote that he was happy for us.”

            “He didn’t say anything negative about me at all?”

            “Well he wanted to make sure you were going to support us financially, but other than that, he said this was good news that we finally knew. Truthfully, after all these years, we’re just happy to know who it is and have a hope of stopping it soon,” Draco said.

            “Alright, I’ll think about it,” Harry acquiesced.

            Lucius, even from behind bars, seemed to have been there for the children more than Harry had. If Lucius was willing to continue to stand by them, then maybe Harry should have a talk with the only biological grandfather his children had. Harry thought about it all that night during the bedtime routine. He couldn’t help but wonder how much the children had gotten to know Lucius, with only the biannual visits. Now he had to add in that in addition to the visits, there were letters being exchanged. Was it possible that Lucius Malfoy’s hooks were already in his children? He would have to ask the children.

 

* * *

 

 

            “How about this one Daddy? Stu the Dragon Makes Stew for Sue,” Cael suggested, holding up a book.

            “That one’s stupid,” Brax retorted, holding up his own. “I want Cecelia’s Cilia.”

            “Those are both lame. Daddy, why can’t you tell us a story about catching bad guys at work?” Scorp asked.

            “Yeah!” Cael agreed.

            Harry was in Scorp and Cael’s room and the three boys were over at the bookcase, pulling out large colorful books and making a mess of it. A few of the books the boys had had all along, a good sized stack were from Andy for Christmas, and Harry had filled in the rest of the shelf with used books he’d picked up from the Weasleys, coworkers in the Auror department, and the local thrift store. The bookcase was far from full, but it was a start. Bedtime was one of his favorite times of day now, making his return trip to Grimmauld Place afterward a letdown.

            Harry was supposed to be reading his oldest three sons a bedtime story. He had thought they’d go to each room reading children to sleep, but there were too many children in too many rooms for that. Instead Draco sent Brax into Cael and Scorp’s room and Cyg into Lyra and Cassy’s room, while Aries and Carina were put to bed in the nursery. Narcissa handled the girls tonight, while Harry took the boys, and Draco saw to the babies.

            “I have a better idea: why don’t you lot tell me one?” Harry asked.

            “About what?” Brax asked skeptically.

            “About your grandfather Lucius.”

            “What about him?” Scorp asked.

            “Anything. What’s it like visiting him or writing to him or what you’ve been told about him.”

            “You do know he’s a Deaf Eater, don’t you Daddy?” Cael asked.

            “Yes, I know.”

            “And you know he’s in Az’aban?” Brax asked.

            “Yes.”

            “And we visit him and write him letters. That’s it,” Scorp finished.

            It took a bit more prodding, but eventually Harry began to get an impression of what Lucius Malfoy was to the children. They knew Lucius wasn’t perfect and did bad things, but they also loved him. They viewed him as the head of their family and despite it all, they were proud to be his grandchildren. He gave them their name, their pureblood status, and had somehow managed to become linked to their self-esteem. It didn’t matter how poor they were, because as long as their grandfather was there telling them how much he loved them, everything would be alright.

            Harry thought that a large part of the impression the children had of Lucius was due to how Draco and Narcissa talked about him. Lucius’ wife and son still idolized the man and brought his name up at every significant development. It was always, _“What would Lucius say?”_ And _“What would Lucius do?”_ Or it was _“Lucius would be so pleased_ , _”_ and _“Lucius wouldn’t like that_. _”_ It was like Lucius was god or something.

            Harry wasn’t pleased to realize this, but nor was he willing to yank away the rock that had held the family together. Instead he wanted to insert himself as a new, sturdier rock, adding to the strength and integrity of the system. His children were going through a dramatic period of change, so now was not a good time to add any more upheaval to the system. They had been dirt poor and so utterly unknown that there were only three people in the world who knew they existed. Now their money troubles were gone and they were so well known that they were frequently in the paper, with one outing generating enough material to keep them on the front page for a week straight. That was a big change for young children and Harry wanted to keep as much the same as possible. Unfortunately that meant keeping Lucius in their lives.

            “Harry, you should be finishing up! It’s bedtime!” Draco called from the sitting room, interrupting the discussion Harry had been having with the boys. He’d already put the babies to sleep and was picking up the mess in the sitting room.

            “Alright, one quick story and then off to bed,” Harry said.

            “Harry Potter and the Dark Lord, then,” Brax said, pulling out the boys’ favorite story.

            Whatever story they read first, they always ended with this one. It was one of the many stories written about Harry after the war; this particular one was the children’s version that had been modified. It was another of Narcissa’s school projects, this time fixing the childless happily ever after at the end of the book. The children had been tasked with adding in two pages to his life, with words and drawings. Now the book had a proper ending, with Harry finding his children and living happily ever after. He was very proud of his children’s work and had sent a copy of the new pages to the original publisher, asking that they be added in to new versions of the book, because his life could never be complete without his kids.

            “Why don’t you read it to me, Brax? You’ve heard it enough times to have it memorized,” Harry replied.

            “Yeah, you’rea good reader Brax,” Cael said, sounding slightly envious of his brother, and Scorp agreed.

            “Alright, just let me get my reading glasses,” Brax replied, going to his bed.

            Harry had some experience with children and knew they loved having places to store treasures. He himself had stored old bits of food and broken toys cast off from Dudley on the shelves of his cupboard under the stairs. Thus when he’d been tasked with buying beds for the Malfoy children, he’d chosen the headboards with shelves and cubbyholes. Brax had his only stuffed toy, a large abraxan, in the cubbyhole of his bed, with his reading glasses, books, and shiny rocks on the shelf. Arthur and Molly Weasley had taken the children all out hunting for nice rocks a few weeks ago and then shown them how to polish the stones.

            Brax pulled out his glasses, put them on, and opened the book.

            Harry had peaked in at the children at school before and from a distance seen Brax wearing the glasses. He’d also seen Brax pull the glasses out to read or do homework, but he’d never really noticed them before or thought about how it was that a boy who’d never left Malfoy Manor had a pair of glasses. Aunt Petunia had complained about having to take Harry every year for a new pair, with the nosey teachers always insisting that he needed a proper pair. He’d just assumed that somehow Narcissa had snuck Brax out, under the guise of polyjuice or stuck to the muggle world, to get the glasses. Now that he had a good look at them, he wasn’t so sure.

            “Brax, where did you get these glasses?” Harry asked.

            “From my gran’mother. She and Father have to save up, but they always bu’gget me a new pair every year,” Brax answered.

            “You didn’t go with her to see an eye healer?”

            “No, why would I?”

            “So the eye healer can look at your eyes and tell you which strength of glasses you need,” Harry explained.

            “Why would we do all that, when Father already knows?”

            “I just don’t understand how he knows. May I see them?”

            “Sure,” Brax said, handing the glasses over.

            They were the type of thing that was marketed towards old people who are going blind in their old age. Muggles sell these cheap plastic reading glasses in drugstores, no prescription required. Harry himself was nearsighted, with his own eye glass prescription in the opposite direction, so he had no use for reading glasses. Even with the reversal, his son obviously had inherited his weak eyes. But he didn’t like the fact that Brax hadn’t gone to a proper optometrist and was using such cheap glasses.

            “Right, I’ll have to take you to a proper healer and buy you some proper glasses,” Harry concluded.

            Brax’s glasses were yet another example of Narcissa and Draco doing the best they could with next to no money. They couldn’t afford real glasses, so they made do with this pair of junk. They probably guessed at the strength and since it’d been better than nothing, Brax had adapted.

            “I want ta keep these. They’re blue,” Brax replied, grabbing his glasses back.

            “Yeah, his last pair were all _girly_ ,” Cael added.

            “These ones are better,” Scorp seconded.

            “Gran’mother said she tried her best, but they were out of the good ones that year,” Brax explained.

            “Well you can keep these, but I want to buy you a new pair. And they have more choices, so they’ll have cooler looking ones than these,” Harry reasoned.

            Brax was skeptical, but agreed. So far everything his new daddy had changed was for the better.

            It was late, so in the interest of time, Harry read the story quickly. Tomorrow he’d get his boys to read to him, but tonight he needed to get them to sleep before Draco came in and took over.

            After the story, Harry tucked Scorp and Cael into bed, applied a few kisses, and then walked Brax over to the room he shared with Cyg. Cyg was already fast asleep, as usual, so he had to be quiet tucking Brax in. Luckily Cyg seemed to be one of those kids who can sleep through anything. As usual, Harry got Brax to sleep and back out without bothering Cyg. Then he was left to go home and think about Lucius Malfoy.

 

* * *

 

 

            It was difficult to arrange a visit with a prisoner in Azkaban. Harry put in his request and then went back to focusing on his children. Brax needed that appointment with an optometrist and that was something much easier to arrange. He’d long since traded in his old broken specs from his childhood for a new larger pair. Of course with his job his new pair had been broken and repaired about as many times as the old pair and the style was the same, but these ones were at least sturdier. But the point was that he already had an eye healer and said optometrist was willing to get his son in on short notice.

            Harry had to take off a few hours early from work on Wednesday afternoon to take Brax for his appointment. His son seemed rather in awe of the place, but revealed he was most excited about having alone time with Harry, without any of his brothers or sisters there to share with. It hadn’t occurred to Harry that Brax would feel that way, but with so many siblings, it was inevitable that there just wasn’t enough parental attention to go around. He would have to arrange individual outings for each of them, so that they all could feel special.

            Healer Comstock tested Brax’s vision and as Harry suspected, he concluded that the cheap glasses were entirely the wrong prescription. Brax’s eyes were weak and he was slightly nearsighted as well as far sighted. The fact that the child was used to using reading glasses was an indication that his eyes were weaker than would otherwise be indicated by his prescription.

            “You see, Harry, it’s about the range of focuses the eye can achieve. Your eyes have been set for short distances and you have a limited range, so you need glasses to see far away. Your son has the same limited range, but in the absence of proper glasses, he has made do by setting his range further out. That makes it almost impossible for him to read anything close up without his glasses,” the healer explained.

            “So what you’re saying is that these crummy glasses have actually been keeping his eye from going like mine?” Harry asked. It was rather hard to believe that Draco’s cheap plaster of a fix had actually been better than what was typically prescribed by medical professionals. What might his eyesight be like if he’d been given reading glasses too? It made so much more sense to wear glasses only when you are reading than to have to wear them all of the time, while running and chasing bad guys.

            “Yes.”

            “In that case, what prescription reading glasses should I get him?”

            “I actually think you ought to get him a bifocal, Auror Potter.”

            “No. His father has been buying him reading glasses. If they work better, then I’m not going to change that. Just tell me what his proper prescription is so I can buy him a real pair of reading glasses and not these plastic things,” Harry insisted.

            The healer acquiesced and wrote out a prescription for reading glasses that wasn’t all that off from what Brax already had. They were a bit stronger, but not much. Harry then took his son to the adjoining glasses shop, where he told Brax he could pick out any frames he wanted. Brax choose a pair of round frames similar to Harry’s, only blue. They watched together as the shop keeper spelled the correct lenses into the frames and handed them over.

            “Wow, these really _are_ cooler than my old pair,” Brax said, having a look at himself in the mirror. The lenses made his green eyes pop and the frames reminded Harry of a young blond-haired version of himself, only with a bit of Draco mixed in.

            “I’m glad you like them Brax. What do you say we go next door and you can read the signs on the sweets for me? We can take a treat home for everyone,” Harry suggested. There was a candy shop next door.

            “I don’t like chocolates.”

            Harry had brought chocolates home for the children a couple of times now. He thought the children needed fattening up, especially Scorp, because they were too thin. Carina was the only child who could be considered chunky. The toddlers were all slender, but not too thin, while the older children were too thin, with Scorp bordering on dangerously thin. Harry couldn’t bring Scorp home treats and not bring something for the others, so he just made sure Scorp’s treats were exceedingly high in calories.

            Harry had thought the chocolates had been a huge hit with everyone, since Draco had never been able to afford sweets before, but evidentially not. “Well what do you like? What’s your favorite food?”

            “I love the berries in the summer; blueberries and blackberries and razberries.”

            “Hmm, I’m sure we can find some berries at the market, but we’ll have to go by side-along.” This strip of wizarding shops was in the small wizarding village by the Weasley’s house. Everyone knew him here, so they were safe. But there wasn’t a wizarding grocery store here and he couldn’t risk taking Brax to a larger wizarding town, because they’d surely be spotted and mobbed. Thus they’d go muggle and need to apparate.

            Brax had never been side-along apparated, so he didn’t know what he was getting into. He wasn’t even that proficient with floo travel. He agreed to it, but came out the other end vomiting. It was not at all how Harry pictured the father-son trip to the market. But Brax recovered quickly and Harry cleaned him up. The look on Brax’s face when they went into the market was worth the ordeal.

            There were rows upon rows of fruit, some of which Brax had only heard and read about. He’d only had food that was grown at Malfoy Manor, which meant that he’d never had any food that was hard to grow in England, including oranges. Brax picked up an orange and was fascinated by its perfectly spherical shape. Harry bought one for Brax to try. He loved it, so they bought a whole bag full to bring home to share. All in all, it was a successful outing and Harry realized that he’d learned things about his son that he didn’t even know he didn’t know. He’d have to arrange similar outings with his other children too.

 

* * *

 

 

            The task of arranging a visit with Lucius Malfoy didn’t turn out to be as challenging as Harry thought. His name still held a lot of weight, so by the end of the week, his request was granted. He went after lunch the next Monday. He and Ron were buried in paperwork at the moment, because they were in between cases, so he didn’t mind the excuse to leave work early. He apparated over to the dock, boarded the Azkaban ferry, and waited in a stark white brick interview room for Lucius Malfoy. It was a gloomy March day and winter hadn’t yet broke, so it was cold and drafty inside the wizarding prison.

            Lucius’ hands were cuffed when he was led into the room at wand point and chained to the chair, which was bolted down to the cement. He was wearing a grubby striped prison jumpsuit, his straggly grey hair matted with grime, and his fingernails were black. The man looked awful.

            “Lucius,” Harry said.

            “Auror Potter,” Lucius acknowledged, nodding. “I want to thank you for what you’ve been doing for my grandchildren. They mean the world to me; their letters keep me going.”

            “Yeah, well I didn’t do it for you; they are my kids.”

            “Yes. I was so pleased for Draco when I received that letter informing me of the joyous news.”

            “So you don’t mind that I’m the other parent to all nine of your grandkids?”

            “No, far from it; I’m happy for them to have you.”

            “And why is that? You would’ve handed me over to Voldemort without batting an eye during the war.”

            “I was wrong.”

            “And you see that now?”

            “I saw that before the war was over.”

            “And yet you did nothing.”

            “There was nothing I could do; I had no wand and neither did Cissy. Draco was the only one of us with a wand. He was a child and pregnant at the time; we just wanted him to protect and defend himself. Surely you wouldn’t have asked more of him?”

            “Him, no, but you, yes.”

            “I wish I did do more,” Lucius said solemnly. “I am ashamed of my actions. I have disgraced my family and my wizarding heritage; I was wrong and I acknowledge it, but there is nothing I can do from in here to repay my debt to society. My wife, son, and grandchildren are being punished for my crimes, while I can do nothing to help them or to atone for the wrong I have done.”

            “They will pay for your crimes no longer; I’ll see to that.”

            “Thank you.”

            “But that’s not what I came here to talk to you about.”

            “What _did_ you come here to talk to me about Auror Potter?”

            “My ninth child. You are aware that Draco is pregnant again by me?”

            “Yes.”

            “I would like to give my child my name. The first eight have Draco’s name, so I think it’s only fair that this one should have mine.”

            “Do you plan on marrying my son?”

            “No and he doesn’t want that.”

            “I should think not; he can’t stand the thought after what your people did to him.”

            “I saw to it that Aescwine and Vance were punished; I was appalled when I found out what they did.”

            “Nevertheless, it is done and my son is permanently damaged from it.”

            “Yes, he is.”

            “And as long as my son remains unmarried, his children will bear my name,” Lucius concluded, as if the issue were closed and unchangeable.

            “I talked to Draco about this and he is willing to give this child my name, if you would be agreeable.”

            “No.”

            “Excuse me?” Harry was at least expecting some discussion on the subject; he never thought Lucius would turn him down flat.

            “No. They are my heirs and I will claim them as such. They may have a shameful origin at the Dark Lord’s hands, but I love them all. I will not turn my back on any of them; not even for you, Savior Potter.”

            “Urg! I’m not asking you to turn your back on them! I’m just asking that you allow me to give one of them my name!”

            “It’s the same thing.”  
            “It is _not_ the same thing!”

            “It is to me. While I am in here, there is nothing I can give my grandchildren, besides my name and my full acceptance as my heirs. I have the right to give them both and I intend to give them everything I can.”

            “But don’t you think that having my name and being my heir is more valuable? Or at least, as valuable?”

            “It is not my place to say.”

            “Because you know I’m right and you’re hurting your grandchildren by preventing one of them from having a more valuable last name and being an heir to a greater fortune.”

            “I have no fortune what-so-ever to leave any of them, it’s true, but I cannot change that; I can’t change the past, even for them.”

            “But you could let them inherit my money.”

            “You are free to leave your fortune to my heirs if you so choose.”

            “That’s not what I want; I want your heirs, _my children_ , to be _my_ heirs. I don’t think you’ve any right to them.”

            “They are the only beings I do have a right to, besides my son and my wife. I have no material possessions; not even these clothes on my back are mine to claim, but my family is still my family.”

            “They’re my family too.”

            “Legally they are not.”

            “Look, you’re being difficult on purpose. What do I need to do to make you sign over this new baby to me as my heir so I can give him or her my name?”

            “You would need to give something of equal value to me to give my grandchildren in return.”

            “Like what? I don’t think you want my name.”

            “Your name no; your help, yes.”

            “My help with what?”

            “I would like to spend more time with my family; I think time would be an acceptable trade.”

            “How much time? An extra visit every year?” Harry could probably arrange that easily. Not that he wanted his children here, but he didn’t think Draco would ever agree to cutting off the visits completely. If the children were already visiting twice per year, then increasing it to three times couldn’t do any additional harm.

            “No. I want to see them on a daily basis. I want to be part of their lives and for them to know what it is like to have a loving grandfather. Surely you would want the same for your children.”

            “Absolutely not! I don’t want my kids here every day! Are you mad?” Harry thought then about the fact that Arthur Weasley was willing to play the grandfather role with the children, so they didn’t need Lucius.

            “Not yet, no. I don’t want my grandchildren here at all.”

            “Good, then we agree on something.”

            “They wouldn’t have to visit me here if you had my sentence commuted to house arrest,” Lucius said.

            Harry’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious? You want me to get you out of here? I can’t do that!”

            “You can.”

            “You deserve the time you got. Many lives were lost because of you.”

            “And I am sorry for that, but what harm could I do if I was under house arrest? I’m not a young man Auror Potter; I would not attempt to leave the Manor and I would devote myself to helping my wife and son with my grandchildren. I have no ulterior motive, besides my family’s happiness and well-being.”

            “They are happy and just fine without you.”

            “Have you read the letters my grandchildren write me?”

            “No…” But Harry did have some idea of how fond the children were of their written correspondence with their grandfather.

            “Then you cannot possibly know how much they love me and miss having a grandfather in their lives. A grandfather is something that not even you can give them…”

            “Unless I give them you, is that it?” Harry didn’t say it, but he was thinking that Arthur was a better grandfather hands down. He worried though that Lucius would be upset to learn that a Weasley was filling in his place and since he was trying to get something from Lucius, he didn’t think saying that would help.

            “Precisely. I’m glad we could see eye to eye on this. Do we have an agreement?”

            “No, I need to think about it more. But just so we’re clear, if I were to convince a warlock to commute your sentence to house arrest, you would agree to let the new baby be my heir and have my name?”

            “No.”

            “But, I thought you said…” Harry started, but Lucius cut him off.

            “I said I would give you one of my heirs, but not which one. I would give you the one who would make the best Potter; the one who is the most like you.”

            “Cassy?” Harry asked. He wouldn’t mind having Cassy as his heir and giving her his name. He’d take all of them if he could.

            “No, Cassy may look the most like you, but she is not the most like you. I would give you the one who has the most Potter spirit. I knew your father and your grandfather and I know you now Auror Potter; one of my grandsons has the same spirit. Do you not know which?”

            “Scorp?” Harry guessed. It had been Scorp who was brave enough to reach out to him and write that letter.

            “Scorp is bold, it is true, but calculated boldness is a Malfoy trait as well. You don’t know.” Lucius said knowingly.

            “Why don’t you just tell me?” Whichever child Lucius said, Harry was fairly certain the answer would be to suit some scheme of Lucius’; what that scheme could possibly be, he didn’t know.

            “Caelum Lucius Malfoy is the Gryffindor in the bunch, mark my words. Draco will deny it if you ask him, but Caelum is the Potter.”

            “But Cael looks like a Malfoy! He’s even named after you!”

            “Yes and he’s a fine namesake; I wouldn’t give him up for anything less than my release from this place.”

            “What are you playing at? Why do you want to give me Cael?”

            “Because he is the one who wants it.”

            “Huh?”

            “If you had read the letters Cael writes to me every week, you would know that he is the only one who would be willing to take your name. You must know the children have talked about it.”

            “No, I didn’t know…” Harry hadn’t yet had a chance to spend time with Cael alone. He’d arranged another outing, this one with Scorp to get a haircut, but hadn’t had time to do the other children yet.

            Harry had learned a lot about Scorp during the trip, including the fact that his son desired a broom and a set of Quidditch balls more than anything else in the world. Teddy had his own broom and Harry had a set of balls and an old broom, but Harry hadn’t yet had occasion to buy Scorp a broom. He would’ve gone out and gotten one just because, if Scorp was his only child, but he couldn’t get Scorp a present without getting the other kids presents. He’d suggested getting all of the kids presents to Draco, but Draco said that that set a bad precedent and to wait for their birthdays. Their birthdays weren’t all that far away, so he would get Scorp a broom then. In the meantime, he’d borrowed a number of old brooms for the children from the Weasleys.

            “Oh?” Lucius asked, raising one eyebrow in surprise. “Well they have. My little Scorp, now that one is a Slytherin through and through, he writes to me and tells me what the children talk about when my wife and son are out of the room. Apparently they all had an argument about it. It was after reading an article in the paper that mentioned the possibility that you and my son were getting married and that all of the children would be taking your name. Scorp led the campaign against changing their names and managed to get all of the others, except Cael, to agree with him. Cael wrote me and said he still loves me, but that he wanted to take your name. I wrote him back that I understood and that I wasn’t mad at him. I cannot be there physically, but at least I can be understanding.”

            “Cael wants my name?” Harry asked; he had never considered this possibility. Sure Cael was the daredevil in the group, but he had never said anything. It had been Scorp who thought Harry was their dad, while Cael had been certain Harry wasn’t. But Cael accepted Harry now and if Lucius could be believed, Cael would be accepting of the Potter name. Harry would have to arrange an outing with Cael next and ask. If it was true, then it meant that Lucius really did know the children better than Harry did.

            “Yes; I would let you read the letter, but I don’t have it on me.”

            “Can you owl it to me?”

            “No; it’s my letter from one of my beloved grandchildren. It’s priceless to me.”

            “Right.”

            “Well Auror Potter, do we have a deal?”

            “I’ll have to think about it,” Harry said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Has Lucius served enough time? Is it time for him to come home? Is Caelum’s last name worth his grandfather’s release?  
> Draco’s healer appointment will be next. It’ll be his first time out in public in years.


	12. Chapter12

             “Auror Potter and Lord Malfoy?” Adney Snyder called surprised. He was a tall burly brown haired photographer for the Daily Prophet and was already snapping away with his camera. He hadn’t expected to see Auror Potter at St. Mungo’s and Lord Malfoy hadn’t been seen in public in _years_. “Hackney! Forget the explosion; I’ve just seen Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy! Get everyone; I’ll follow them.”

            “Shite! We’ve been spotted by the press; we better hurry,” Harry said, leading Draco swiftly through the corridors of St. Mungo’s.

            This was about the worst possible thing that could have happened today. It had been a fight just to get Draco to come and now the press was after them. This was Draco’s first trip into Wizarding society in years and with the press coverage of the Potter/Malfoy love children scandal, Draco’s reemergence was big news. Draco really should have gone out before now. Although he had arranged for more people to come over and had flooed to visit some of his friends and relatives, he had not actually gone out to a place where strangers had a chance of seeing him. No one had been able to take his picture for the paper or even find a recent one to use, because there were none.

            Draco hadn’t wanted to visit the healers. He didn’t like being touched, especially by strangers, and touching tended to happen during medical examinations. He didn’t even think this examination was necessary, because he had already gone through eight pregnancies with little prenatal care; why start now?

            The most prenatal care Draco had ever received was when he was pregnant with Scorp, back when Voldemort had been alive. Voldemort had wanted that baby, so Draco had monthly visits to a healer on Voldemort’s side of the war. After Voldemort’s death, however, the prenatal visits stopped completely, because Draco was in Ministry custody and they hadn’t provided prenatal care. For the entire last three months of the pregnancy, he hadn’t had so much as a nutrient potion. A healer had supervised the very last hour of the labor and several hours of after labor care, but that was it. Draco and the baby had been taken back to his cell and left there alone.

            With Cael, Draco had been in Ministry custody until the last month. At Harry’s insistence, Draco had had one prenatal appointment, but he had refused to return for a second. Draco did concede to go back for the labor and birth. Cael was the only Malfoy child who had been born at a proper wizarding hospital, but that was only because the Ministry had been providing Draco medical coverage at the time.

            With the third through eighth births, Draco hadn’t had medical coverage and couldn’t afford the visits. He had given birth at home with no one besides his mother for help; well the older children had helped with the last few births, but they mostly just tended to the younger children so the adults didn’t have to. He hadn’t had any prenatal care and only the rare self-brewed nutrient potion. He was healthy and he just happened to luck out that all of his children were healthy too.

            Harry didn’t want to leave the health of their ninth child up to chance and they didn’t have to this time, because Draco had medical insurance now. Harry had filled out paperwork to officially declare themselves domestic partners. Domestic partners received the same benefits as spouses and that includes medical insurance. And if the visits didn’t cost them anything, then why not go and make sure the baby is alright? If there is a problem, it is best to know about it right away, right? In the muggle-world the sooner one knew of the problem, the higher the likelihood that it would be fixed.

            Medicine in the wizarding world, however, didn’t work the same way. In the wizarding world, if there was a problem, it could be fixed with the wave of a wand at any time. As long as the problem didn’t cause immediate death, it could be fixed. It made no difference whether they knew of a birth defect now or if they waited until the birth, because the cure could not be delivered until birth. Draco’s plan for the event of a defective child being born was to take it to St. Mungo’s for a simple procedure. He didn’t see the point in worrying about something that might happen until it _actually_ happened. He had enough to worry about with reality.

            Harry had assumed Draco would take advantage of the new medical insurance and arrange regular visits for himself. It was only when Harry had asked about finding out the sex of the baby that he had discovered that Draco still hadn’t bothered to make an appointment. It was almost April and Draco was a few days shy of five months pregnant; he should have had a checkup by now, especially because he had had health insurance since January. But Draco didn’t think it was necessary and didn’t want to be touched, so he hadn’t gone.

            It was only after much cajoling and a bit of threatening that Harry had gotten Draco to agree to this one appointment. Now it was turning into a nightmare, because photographer Adney Snyder had spotted them coming out of the floo in the lobby. Their appointment was several floors up and down a long corridor, in the Maternity/Paternity ward, and because of the anti-apparition wards on the building, they had to walk the entire way.

            It was rather bad luck that there just happened to have been a major mysterious explosion in Diagon Alley an hour before their appointment. It was a slow news day, so all of the reporters and photographers were converged on St. Mungo’s, trying to get interviews with the survivors and pictures for the front page. Only now that Harry and Draco had been spotted, they abandoned the explosion story and switched to the long overdue appearance of Draco Malfoy.

            Half a dozen reporters and photographers were on them before they gained the lifts. Harry pushed Draco through the lift door and physically barred the reporters and photographers from following them in. But there was a second lift and moments after they exited the lift on their proper floor, the second lift opened and the reporters and photographers spilled out in an excited swarm. They surrounded Harry and Draco before the young men could get twenty feet down the corridor, pushing them against the wall.

            Snyder was a big man who happened to resemble Aescwine, the ex-Auror who had rapped Draco in Ministry custody. Snyder lunged at Draco, trying to get the best angle for his shot, and Draco screamed and jumped in fright. Draco grabbed hold of Harry’s arm with a death grip and tried not to hyperventilate, but having a large strong man who looked like the man who had rapped him touching him was about the worst thing that could happen to him.

            At the scream, Harry looked over and saw Snyder’s hand on Draco’s shoulder, trying to reposition Draco for the shot, while Draco was looking to Harry with a panic stricken face. Harry could see Draco’s chest moving in and out rapidly as his breaths came in quick secession, which was unusual, especially in the baggy robes he wore to cover his pregnancy. Harry worried about what would happen if he touched Draco, but surely it wouldn’t be as bad as what would happen if Snyder was allowed to continue touching Draco. Draco knew Harry, but he didn’t know Snyder. Harry didn’t have time to dwell on that, because action was required now.

            Harry jerked Draco’s body tight against his side, swatting Snyder’s hand away from Draco. Then Harry grabbed his traveling cloak from around his neck and draped it over Draco’s face, head, and as much of Draco’s body as it would cover. The photographers wanted a picture and Harry was going to make sure they didn’t get a decent one. Once Draco was covered, Harry pushed Draco in back of him, against the wall, putting his body between Draco and the reporters.

            “Back off now or I’ll arrest all of you!” Harry bellowed, brandishing his wand and casting a shield charm. “Attacking a pregnant man in the Paternity ward at St. Mungo’s will be a night in the Ministry holding cells and a fine. I’m sure the Quibbler will be very interested in printing my story about the attack.”

            “We just want a sound bite from you,” a female reporter said.

            “Why are you here today?” another reporter asked.

            “Is Lord Malfoy in need of medical treatment?” asked a third.

            “Is Lord Malfoy pregnant again?” asked the second.

            “Yes, he’s pregnant. We’re just here for a routine checkup; please let us get to it. I won’t say anything more than that,” Harry answered.

            “How far along is he?”

            “Is this the runaway pregnancy ritual again or was this child conceived deliberately?”

            “How many fetuses is Lord Malfoy carrying? Is there any truth to Rita Skeeter’s story that it’s triplets?”  
            “How many children are the two of you planning on having?”

            Harry could feel Draco’s hot jagged breath on his neck and Draco’s hands were digging into his sides, holding on for dear life. Draco was obviously still panicking. “Enough! I said no more questions. If you don’t let up I’ll be forced to stun you all and take you into custody!”

            “The public deserves answers. Will you consent to an interview at a later date?”

            “No. Our personal lives are our business and no one else’s,” Harry replied. He considered another threat, but the reporters and photographers were already shuffling away, clearing space for them to continue on their way.

            Harry edged sideways, like a crab, against the wall, and kept Draco behind him, moving along with him. The members of the press shuffled and followed them.

            “How about just one photo?” Snyder called out.

            This wasn’t working, because the press was following and they couldn’t move fast enough like this. Draco trembled at Snyder’s words and Harry didn’t think Draco would be able to run, let alone walk, the way they needed to in order to escape this situation.

            “No,” Harry replied loudly, before whispering under his breath to Draco. “Lightening charm, then I’m going to pick you up and run us out of here.”

            Draco squeezed Harry’s right hip and rested his forehead down on the back of Harry’s head. Draco didn’t actually say anything, but Harry thought his body language indicated his agreement with Harry’s plan.

            Harry turned, cast the lightening charm, and scooped Draco up into his arms in one fluid movement. The cloak slipped off Draco’s head and got trapped between their bodies in the process, but Harry didn’t have time to fix it, because he was running. The press was taken by surprise and left in Harry’s dust.

            “After them!” a reporter shouted.

            That seemed to rouse the mob, which was now running to catch up with them. But the photographers with their large bulky camera were wildly snapping shots and in the way, slowing down the more nimble reporters. It only took half a minute for the reporters to break free and begin the chase in earnest, but Harry was fast and already well ahead. As Harry approached the door to the waiting room, a hospital orderly opened the door for them and shouted for security. Just as they slipped through the door into safety, one hospital security worker and their only male nurse in the ward rushed out, intercepting the press.

            Harry walked up to the reception desk, where a thin wispy looking witch sat. “Draco Malfoy needs to be seen right away. I think he’s having a panic attack; we were attacked by reporters,” Harry said quickly.

            “On no! Bring him through that door there and I’ll get someone,” the witch replied.

            Harry approached the door she indicated and a nurse opened it from the inside for him, before escorting them to the nearest bed. Harry set Draco down on the hospital bed. The nurse was just checking his vitals when a medi-wizard came running through the door with a vial filled with a translucent beige potion Harry recognized as calming draught.

            “Let me give it to him; he doesn’t like strange men touching him,” Harry said, stepping forward to intercept the medi-wizard.

            “Alright, but then you need to explain to us what happened,” the wizard replied, holding out the vial.

            Harry got Draco to swallow the potion and then informed the wizard about the reporter’s attack and the chase. The nurse continued to check Draco over until another witch, this one in healer robes, came in and took over.

            “Auror Potter, Lord Malfoy will be just fine. He has suffered from a mild panic attack, but with the calming draught, he’s calmed down. In fact, I think the calming draught was too strong, because his response times are very slow at the moment. I suggest you take him home and put him to bed after your appointment,” the healer said. She wasn’t the healer Draco’s appointment was with, but a new one Harry hadn’t met before.

            Harry agreed and then the healer, the nurse, and the medi-wizard left the room, leaving Harry and Draco alone. He pulled up a chair and sat down by Draco’s side. Draco looked up at him with dreamy looking light grey eyes and slowly reached out his hand towards Harry’s. Harry moved his hand towards Draco’s, but stopped just shy of Draco’s hand, letting Draco close the distance and come to him.

            Draco set his hand down on top of Harry’s clumsily and said, “Thank you for saving me.” His speech was slow and airy, indicating that he was clearly a bit out of it at the moment.

            “Anytime. I was worried you were going to freak when I picked you up like that, but I’m glad you let me; you definitely helped me get you out of there as quickly as possible.”

            Draco nodded and closed his eyes, drifting off into a distant hazy awareness while they waited. He was vaguely aware of a healer coming in and talking to him, asking if it was alright for her to check him over. He tried to wake up or at least nod, but he was too doped up to manage more than the slightest of nods. There were some unpleasant tactile sensations that followed, but with the calming draught coursing through his system, he couldn’t be bothered to care. Instead he fell more deeply into sleep and dreamt that he was being chased be reporters that were shaped oddly enough like giant puffskeins; it was hard to be scared of something so round and fluffy, so he wasn’t.

            Harry was immensely grateful for the fact that the calming draught had knocked Draco out. He remembered the last time he had taken Draco for a prenatal visit back when Draco was first released from jail. Draco hadn’t been attacked, chased, or touched by large burly photographers on that occasion, but he had still been a nightmare with his constant complaining. Draco’s hatred of being prodded by healers combined with the press incident and the panic attack were not a good combination. But thanks to the calming draught, Draco slept through the examination and Harry wasn’t subjected to Draco’s complaining.

            “Alright, I’ve confirmed that your baby is indeed healthy. It looks like this baby is due around the beginning of August. Do you have any questions for me?” Healer Smith asked. She was the same healer Draco had seen when he was pregnant with Caelum, because Harry was hoping that Draco would be less likely to freak out with a healer he already knew.

            Harry did in fact have many questions. He wanted to more thoroughly understand what was happening with Draco’s body and was worried that the recurrent pregnancies must be taking their toll on Draco. He had to be reassured numerous times that Draco was in fact in good health. Maybe Draco could use a nutrient potion, but because Draco ate healthy and regularly exercised, he was fine.

            When Harry was satisfied, Healer Smith said, “I can determine the sex of your baby for you now if you would like.”

            Harry very much wanted to know the sex, which was one of his reasons for insisting on the appointment. The sex didn’t really matter to Draco, because whether it was a girl or a boy, it was still a baby he had to carry in his body for nine months, give birth to, and then nurse for two years. Draco already had enough girls and way more boys than he wanted, so it didn’t matter if it was another extra girl or another extra boy. Harry, on the other hand, planned on buying loads of new baby things and wanted to know what color to get.

            “Yes, I want to know and Draco said he doesn’t care,” Harry answered.

            “Very good.” Healer Smith cast the spell, making Draco’s belly glow blue for a moment. “It’s a boy.”

            Harry felt his lips rearranging themselves forming a gigantic smile at the news. He already had five sons and a godson, but somehow the news that he now had a seventh boy was wonderful. Though, Harry was fairly certain he would also have been ecstatic if it was a girl; there was just something about knowing that was thrilling.

            After that the healer gave Harry a recipe for a nutrient potion and a sample of said potion. Harry thought Draco was making the potion himself and taking it regularly, but he didn’t know and Draco was in no position to tell them. Therefore, to be on the safe side, he took the sample and the recipe. Then the healer informed him that three hospital security officers were there to escort them back to the floo. Their trip home was much less eventful, although there were dozens of witches and wizards milling about the corridors hoping to get a glimpse of them.

            Harry took Draco home and put him straight to bed. Then he went outside to help Narcissa and Andy with the children, who were playing on the playground and riding their bikes around the house. Andy had come over to help Narcissa with the children while Harry and Draco were at their appointment. Harry told the women about their adventure and the fact that the baby was a boy, before going to play with the children.

            While Harry pushed Carina and Aries on the swings, he noticed that the older children weren’t just riding their bikes, but playing Aurors and Dark Wizards with sticks for wands clutched against their handlebars. Scorp and Lyra were the dark wizards, Cael was Auror Potter, and Brax seemed to be the Auror version of Hermione, pretending to pull out a book and look up a complex spell to trap the bad guys.

            Of course it would be Cael playing Harry. Harry had taken Cael with him last Saturday when he’d had to run into the office. He no longer liked to work on the weekends, but there was a murder inside Azkaban involving a Death Eater Harry was familiar with who had apparently escaped and was now on the loose. The lead investigator wanted Harry’s opinion on the case and given the gravity of the situation, he’d agreed. Auror headquarters wasn’t the best place for children, but all of his children were jealous of Cael when they found out Harry was taking Cael with him. He’d had to promise the younger five that their one-on-one time with them was coming.

            Cael was left at Harry’s desk for the better part of an hour while Harry was in the conference room. Harry thought for sure Cael would be bored senseless by the time he came back, especially because he’d ordered the six and a half year old to stay put and not get into anything. But when he’d returned, Cael had half a dozen junior Aurors gathered around him telling him stories of bad guys they’d brought in and battles they’d survived.

            “Daddy, I’m going ta be Head Aura’ when I grow up!” Cael boasted, when Harry finally got the boy away from his coworkers.

            Needless to say, Cael had the time of his life and still hadn’t stopped talking about it. Afterwards, Harry had taken him to a muggle park and asked him about what Lucius said. Cael confirmed that he did in fact want to be a Potter and asked Harry to change his name. Harry had agreed to see what he could do, but offered no guarantees. He still wasn’t sure he wanted Lucius out of prison, but he was leaning towards it.

            The talk with Cael stepped up the pressure on Harry to do something about Lucius. If one of the children was to have the Potter name, permission would have to be granted from the head of the Malfoy family, who was Lucius. Lucius had agreed to give Caelum to Harry for an heir, but only if Harry arranged for Lucius’ release from prison. Harry had been thinking about the demand more and more often these days and he was seriously considering it. Lucius had served almost eight years and what harm could he possibility do if moved to house arrest? And it had the added benefit of preventing the need for his children to biannually visit Lucius in Azkaban, while simultaneously providing a grandfather to be part of their lives on a daily basis.

            It looked like the older children were having great fun. Like Harry, Cyg’s eyes followed the older children, but Cyg didn’t seem to be able to keep up. His bike was smaller and didn’t go nearly as fast.

            Harry had a sudden inspiration and summoned his broom. “Cyg, come fly with Daddy,” Harry called, pulling up beside his middle son.

            “Cool. What’re we doing?” Cyg asked, abandoning his bike and climbing on.

            “We’re reinforcements, to back up Brax and Cael. They are missing the Auror Ron to their trio. You can act like Uncle Ron, yeah?”

            “Yeah! This is gonna be awesome!” Cyg replied excitedly.

            “Right, so yell expelliarmus and grab Scorp’s wand when I fly up to him,” Harry directed, taking off into the air with one arm wrapped securely underneath Cyg’s armpits.

            Scorp screamed in surprise and dropped his wand when Harry and Cyg came up alongside on their broom. The stick fell to the ground, out of Cyg’s reach, and the grab was fumbled.

            “That’s not fair Daddy! Ly and I only have two people on our side and no broom,” Scorp complained while hopping off his bike to fetch his wand-stick.

            “Well where’s Teddy?” Harry asked.

            “Playing boss with Cassy,” Scorp replied, pointing with his stick to where Teddy and Cassy were playing together on the playground. “I don’t see what’s so great about having Cassy do whatever he wants when he could be playing Aura’s and Wizards with us.”

            Teddy’s favorite part about the current situation was suddenly having eight little brothers and sisters. He was the oldest, but he hadn’t grown up with the others, so they still considered Scorp the oldest. Scorp, Cael, and Brax all thought of themselves as Teddy’s equal, while Aries and Carina were too little to know how to listen to him. Lyra, Cyg, and Cassy, on the other hand, were all young enough to look up to Teddy as a big brother and old enough to follow him, which was what Teddy liked about hanging out with them.

            “Oi, Teddy, Cassy! We need two more dark wizards for our game,” Harry called.

            Teddy grabbed his broom and a stick and joined in, leaving Cassy with whispered instructions.

            Harry was worried that Cassy would be left behind, since her tricycle was even slower than Cyg’s little bike. But then she appeared to go back to the slide, so he assumed she didn’t want to play. He turned his attention back to the older children. He flew a few loops with Cyg and was just wondering where Lyra and Scorp had gone off to when he heard a scream from the playground.

            “Daddy!” Cassy called. “Help!”

            Harry turned the broom in the direction of the playground and spotted Cassy on the ground in front of the slide, clutching her knee as if she was injured. He flew closer and was just noticing how strange it was that Cassy wasn’t crying, only screaming and that Narcissa and Andy were close by, yet doing nothing. And then Teddy, Scorp, and Lyra jumped out from their various hiding spots in and under the playground, shouting, “Stupify!” into the air, sticks pointed at Harry and Cyg.

            “Looks like they’ve got us Cyg, we better play stunned and hope Brax and Cael come rescue us,” Harry said, setting Cyg down on the ground and climbing off the broom as well.

            Cael and Brax did come to the rescue, with a book and an expelliarmus, reversing the stunner. Harry and Cyg hopped back on their brooms and continued the chase until dinner time.

 

* * *

 

 

            Draco woke up just in time for dinner. After dinner, Harry and Draco sat down next to each other on the sofa in the sitting room for a chat.

            “Have you thought about what we are going to name our son?” Harry asked.

            “No, not really. I have vague ideas of using Orion, Leo, and Lynx if the need arises. Maybe Lucian or Rasmus for a middle name.”

            “Lucian? But you’ve already named one after your father,” Harry protested.

            “I have a great great grandfather named Lucian. Rasmus was Lucian’s father. If you haven’t noticed, I’m running low on names. I’ve already used up all of the good ones and was trying to save the few decent astrological names left for first names, presuming I’d need an endless list. The older children all have good middle names, but Vincent, Druella, Serpens, and Delphinus were just what I went with because I couldn’t come up with anything better,” Draco answered.

            “Great!”

            “Why is that great?”

            “Because it means you might take my suggestion for a name. I’ve always wanted a son named after my dad and godfather; James Sirius.” That is what Harry and Ginny had talked about naming their son; that dream was dead, but maybe he could use the name for his child with Draco.

            “No.”

            “What? You can’t just knock it down so quickly! You haven’t even had time to think about it. Didn’t you just say you’re out of names; why can’t I name this one? You’ve named the first eight and I haven’t voiced any complaints about any of those names.”

            “I may not have any good names to contribute, but I can certainly knock down any and all of your absurd suggestions. A Malfoy named James? What are you thinking? And my mother has told me about her cousin Sirius. He was an obnoxious spoiled hooligan. I don’t want my son to turn out like him, so I refuse your suggestion. Fill free to make another.”

            “Fine, what about Albus? Dumbledore was a great man.”

            “Dumbledore? Seriously? I was involved in his murder; I’m not naming my child that just so that I can have one of the biggest mistakes of my life shoved back in my face constantly.”

            “Remus or Arthur. They were my two real father figures.”

            “A werewolf? I think not. And Arthur is just as plebian as James.”

            “Are you going to shoot down every name I suggest?”

            “Depends. Are you going to keep suggesting ridiculous names? I bet you’ll suggest naming him Colin next, after that annoying little boy who used to run around licking your shoes. He made himself a martyr by dying in the final battle.”

            “Colin is alright, I guess…”

            “No! You are going about this naming business all wrong. We can’t name our child after someone who used to lick your shoes, Harry. Think of someone who you admire and who was inspirational to you; someone you want our son to emulate. Or a cool sounding constellation, although I’ve already used all of the best constellations. Then use your brain and consider the same points from my perspective.”

            “So I need to find someone we both admire and would both like are son to be like?” Harry asked with a smile. He suddenly knew the perfect name.

            “Yes, that’s right.”

            “Severus it is then,” Harry said.

            “Sev…” Draco said, turning the name over in his head. It had a nice sound to it. “Severus Malfoy.”

            Finding a middle name was more difficult than the first name. First Harry suggested Tyl, which was one of the stars in the constellation Draco, but Draco didn’t like it. Harry considered the constellations Pyxis and Lupus, but the first was too girly and the second sounded too much like an illness. Harry suggested Harris, meaning Harry’s son, which brought a scowl to Draco’s face. Then Harry looked to his ancestors for inspiration; he had a grandfather named Millard and a great grandfather named Thurmond. Draco didn’t like either name and suggested looking further back, to the ancient Potters.

            The most ancient family member whose name Harry knew was Ignotus Peverell. The Peverells were an ancient wizarding family and although they’d died out in the male line, they were quite proliferous. The Malfoys claimed to be descended from the second brother, Cadmus, while the Rosiers were related to the first brother, Antioch. Of the three, Draco preferred the name Cadmus, but he wasn’t opposed to Ignotus.

            Eventually they settled on the name Severus Ignotus Malfoy. Harry wanted Potter of course, but Draco insisted that the last name wasn’t up for debate. If Harry wanted a kid with his last name, he could conduct a male pregnancy ritual and carry it in his own body or convince a witch to have a kid for him. But as long as Draco was the one pregnant, giving birth, and nursing, then the baby was a Malfoy, unless his father said otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, what do you think Skeeter can make with this story? It’s bound to be in the papers tomorrow. How do you think the public should react to the news?  
> What do you think about the name? Does it fit with the other children or stand out for not being astrological?


	13. Chapter13

            The morning following Draco’s prenatal appointment was a hectic one. Draco was barely putting on his robes when an elf arrived delivering an elegant white baby bassinette with a blue ribbon tied around the perimeter. Apparently the news that they were having another boy had gotten out, because Sally Smith had deemed it fit to send them a gift along with a note of congratulations.

            Sally’s brother Zacharias was having legal troubles at the moment, because of Zacharias’ alleged involvement in some highly illegal business dealings. Obvious Sally sent the gift in order to suck up to Harry, in hopes of the Savior supporting her brother. Harry had enough pull in the Ministry to grant someone leniency if he wanted. He, however, never abused his power and only used his pull when he could personally testify to someone’s innocence, so Sally was wasting her galleons.

            Draco had to deal with the delivery elf and put the bassinette off to the corner of the room, before he could get back to the task of getting ready for the day. This time he was brushing his teeth when a delivery owl arrived with a parcel. It was a beautiful white unicorn fur knit blanket, with a matching sweater, hat, and little booties from Ryleigha Macmillan, Ernie Macmillan’s wife, and the Macmillan family. Obviously the information leak was a major one.

            Anything knit from yarn made out of unicorn fur was insanely expensive and the set had a beautiful argyle texture to the stitch, making it more costly. It was outrageously soft and probably the nicest baby paraphernalia Draco had ever received, so of course he had to stop what he was doing to show it to his mother and then put it away properly.

            After the present from the Macmillans the gifts and congratulation cards really came pouring in. Draco had to order their one old house elf, Wispy, to deal with the gifts, and then called Harry’s elf Kreacher to help. Harry would be heading to work by now and he had offered Draco the use of the elf. In fact, since Harry spent his evenings and weekends at the Manor and wasn’t home during weekdays, Kreacher spent most of his time at the Manor. This pleased Kreacher very much, because of all of the masters and mistresses that were here for him to serve.

            By the time Draco finally got down to the dining room with Carina on his hip, the other Malfoy children were already gathered in the room. Draco had assumed the children would be calmly eating their elf prepared breakfasts, but instead they were gathered around the morning’s addition of the Daily Prophet. All eyes, even little Aries’, were either on the paper or on Scorp, who was bent over the table reading the article.

            “Father!” Cael exclaimed as he spotted Draco, to warn Scorp to stop immediately. They weren’t supposed to be reading their father’s paper without permission. Draco typically didn’t grant the children permission until after he had read it himself. They hadn’t gotten the paper before the scandal with Harry became front page news. They were only getting it now because Draco wanted to know what was being said about him every day and because Harry paid for it.

            “What’s so interesting about today’s paper?” Draco asked.

            “Is it true? Are you and Daddy getting married?” Lyra asked.

            “You’re in looove,” Cassy added.

            Cyg snickered at his sister’s comment.

            Draco raised his eyebrow. “Alright Scorp, it sounds like I’m the only one who doesn’t know what it says. Why don’t you read it to me?”

            “Are you sure Father? I know I’m not supposed to be touching your paper without permission. I was trying to read it without touching it,” Scorp replied.

            “I will allow it this once. Continue.”

            “Ninth Potter/Malfoy Love Child Confirmed- that’s the title Father,” Scorp started. Draco nodded for his son to continue. “Yesterday Auror Harry Potter and Lord Draco Malfoy were spotted at St. Mungo’s hos-pit-al for Magical Ma-ladies and In-jur-ies in the Pa-tern-ity Wing. Auror Potter confirmed that the happy couple was eagerly expecting their ninth child and were there for a ro-tine check-up. Our sources say that Lord Malfoy is five months preg-nant with another boy—the sixth for the—Father, what’s this word?”

            “Spell it,” Draco requested.

            “P-R-O-C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E.”

            “Procreative. It means that we made a lot of babies together,” Draco explained.

            “Oh, that makes sense!” Brax exclaimed.

            “You and Daddy made nine babies tagetha; that’s a lot,” Cael agreed.

            “Alright, hush, I’m not done,” Scorp said. “Cou-ple. The baby’s due date is in a-gree-ment with a still act-ive and f-fer—I don’t know this word either.”

            “Spell it.”

            “F-E-R-T-I-L-E.”

            “Fertile. It means that when we try to make a baby, we get one.”

            “Alright. Male preg-nancy ri-rit. What’s R-I-T-U-A-L?”

            “Ritual and Scorp, I think I have the gist of the article. The press attacked your dad and me when we went to the hospital yesterday; we told you that last night.”

            “Yes, but Father, you didn’t tell us that you and Daddy are getting married!” Brax exclaimed, his siblings adding murmurs of agreement.

            “What are you talking about Brax?”

            “You better read the next part Scorp,” Cael advised.

            “Potter and Malfoy are long-term lovers who re-cent-ly became en-gagg-ed. Sources say they are planning a secret wedding to be held at an un-dis-dis-closed lo-ca-tion before the birth of their latest son. The cou-ple is very much in love and wish to take their, um what’s V-O-W-S?” Scorp asked.

            “Vows, as in wedding vows,” Draco explained.

            “Right,” Scorp said before continuing. “Before yet another child is born to them in S-in. What’s S-in Father?”

            “Sin. It’s nothing to worry about. Nonsense someone says when they don’t like something you’re doing and want to be mean about it. I don’t want you lot saying it.”

            “Okay, I won’t Father.”

            “Get to the good part Scorp! What about the kissing?” Lyra asked.

            “Kissing?” Draco asked, turning paler than usual.

            “Yes, they have a picture of Daddy holding you and kissing your forehead. It says you were spotted snogging!” Brax announced.

            “Snogging?” Draco asked incredulously.

            “Doya love Daddy, Father?” Cassy asked.

            “Are you getting married?” Cyg asked.

            “Can I be in the wedding?” Lyra asked.

            “Me too,” Cassy chimed in.

            “Yeah, me too,” Brax agreed.

            “Yay!” Carina exclaimed, clapping her hands, still in Draco’s arms.

            “Sex!” Aries added.

            “What!?!” Draco roared. “Who told that word to your baby brother? He’s not even two yet!”

            “Sorry Father, but we were talking about it before you came in. The paper says that you and Daddy have sex. I said the paper is lying, but Ly and Cael think it’s true. Brax agreed with me and the others were asking what it was,” Scorp explained.

            “For the record, your dad and I have never had sex and are not planning on being married. And this picture, which looks like Daddy is holding me and kissing my forehead, was taken after those reporters and photographers attacked me. Daddy had to pick me up and carry me to safety. His lips are close to my head, but he wasn’t actually kissing me anywhere. He has never kissed or snogged me. We’re not in love. We are friends and domestic partners.”

            “What’s that?” Brax asked.

            “A domestic partner is someone you share domestic things with, like a home and children. Daddy is over here enough and we share all of you, so that makes us partners,” Draco explained.

            “Is Daddy gonna marry that girl then?” Cyg asked.

            “Going to and no, Daddy and Ginevra Weasley broke up.”

            “What about you Father? Are you ever going to get married?” Lyra asked.

            “Don’t say the g-word Ly. Ask if I am going to marry.

            “Are you going to marry, then, Father?” Lyra corrected.

            “No.”

            “Why not?” Cassy asked.

            “Parents are supposed to marry,” Scorp added.

            “Because I don’t want to. If you marry, then you have to snog and I don’t like snogging.”

            “Draco! You’ll never believe what the Pruetts just sent!” Narcissa exclaimed, coming into the room carrying an antique silver bracelet with a dragon etched around it. “It’s your old baby bracelet! You wore this when you were a baby. After the Ministry confiscated it from us, I thought we would never see it again. But Lanette Pruett bought it from the Ministry and has now seen fit to return it to us.”

            “That’s great Mother,” Draco replied, before showing his mother the article in the Prophet.

            “Well this explains why we have been receiving baby gifts all morning. We’re running out of space in the other office, so I started having the elves stack the stuff on the third floor landing,” Narcissa said.

            After breakfast, Narcissa took the older children upstairs to do their schoolwork, while Draco took the little ones outside. He tended to the crops, while Cyg, Cassy, and Aries rode their bikes. Carina, meanwhile, crawled around the grass, trying to escape from the enclosement charm Draco had encapsulated her in, so that she wouldn’t get hurt.

            Before long Draco and the rest of the Malfoys forgot about the morning’s paper, engrossing themselves in their day. During lunch, Draco finally got around to sorting through the morning mail, which had been overlooked in all of the excitement of the gifts and paper. There were the usual accusations and hate mail, mixed in with a number of congratulations letters and cards and many inquiries into his personal life. He didn’t take the time to sort out which was which, ignoring the lot and going straight to the important letters, such as official letters from St. Mungo’s, the Ministry, and Gringotts.

            Narcissa had taken the children in two groups to St. Mungo’s for the physical that was required in order to file a birth certificate. Scorp and Cael already had birth certificates, so that just left the younger six to do. She took the boys last month and the girls two weeks ago. Without Harry and Draco present and with the aid of a vial of polyjuice for herself, she was able to slip the children in and out without them being recognized. Thus the letter from the Ministry contained the official birth certificates for Draco’s three youngest sons, while the letter from St. Mungo’s contained copies of the physicals for his three daughters. The letter from Gringotts was his quarterly bank statement.

            Draco paused with his fork midair and his mouth open as he read his quarterly statement. There was a lot more money in his vault than he thought. In fact, there was more money than when he was a spoiled rich teenager whose parents gave him an outrageous allowance. There were hundreds of galleons more than he expected to be in there. Harry had transferred some money to Draco to pay for various expenses, like dress robes and the birth certificates, but he’d already spent all of that, so that wasn’t the reason for the discrepancy.

            Harry had said he was giving Draco an additional hundred galleons to cover any expenses that might come up and that he would replenish the money as needed, if Draco provided him with receipts. Draco had had to send their elf Wispy to buy some food to supplement their dinner table, because they were now feeding Harry and sometimes Teddy on a regular basis. Being spring before the crops had come in, they were running low on their food stores and just couldn’t stretch what they had to cover an additional two people. Plus Harry frequently wanted beef, chicken, or lamb for dinner, which were all meats the Malfoy family didn’t have on hand. Then there were a number of small expenses relating to things the children had needed, school supplies Narcissa had asked for, and the newspaper. Draco was expecting to see a total of one hundred galleons, minus those expenses, not over five hundred galleons.

            “Draco, is something wrong dear?” Narcissa asked and the children’s eyes turned to Draco.

            “Ah, no, not really. It’s nothing bad, but it looks as if Harry transferred a lot of money into my account,” Draco replied in somewhat of a daze still.

            “Money?” Cyg asked excitedly.

            “Could we use it to visit Gran’father?” Lyra asked, eyes lighting up.

            “I wanna see Gan’fa’er too,” Cassy seconded.

            “We can’t see him; the stupid Ministry won’t let us!” Scorp interjected.

            “Then we shoul’ use it ta visit a dragon reserf! I wanna fly on the back of a dragon like Daddy!” Cael exclaimed.

            Cyg and Scorp seconded that idea and Narcissa corrected the grammar.

            “Bunny,” Aries put in. He didn’t really know what they were talking about, but Draco had read him his favorite bedtime story about a dragon and a bunny rabbit last night.

            “I want to go to a museum or a zoo,” Brax put in.

            “Oh, a zoo! Please Father? Can we go to the zoo?” Lyra asked.

            “A dragon reserf is like a zoo for dragons,” Cael stated.

            “Draco, perhaps we ought to arrange a family outing for the children,” Narcissa suggested.

            “Perhaps,” Draco agreed, still lost in thought about the state of his bank account and feeling overwhelmed by suddenly having excess money. It had been so long since he had money and could afford more than the bare minimum. He honestly hadn’t thought he’d ever have this much money at one time again. But at the same time, he didn’t dare spend it, in case Harry wanted it back. It had to be a mistake or Harry was anticipating some major expense he hadn’t yet told Draco about.

            “Alright, who would like to go to the zoo and who wants to see a dragon reserve?” Narcissa polled the children.

            In the end, they were tied three to three and all eyes looked to Aries to break the tie. “Alright Aries, do you want to see dragons?” Narcissa asked.

            “Yeah!” Aries replied excitedly.

            “Or do you want to see all kinds of animals at the zoo?” Narcissa asked.

            “Bunnies!” Aries replied, equally as excited.

            “Mother, there are no bunnies at the zoo,” Draco put in.

            “You know, I do remember seeing rabbits at the dragon reserve in Wales. Although, it was inside the dragon’s mouth where I saw them, because they were eating them…that might be upsetting to Aries if the dragons and bunnies don’t hug and play nice like in his story,” Narcissa said.

            “We coul’ go-ta a bunny zoo!” Cassy suggested, earning groans from her older siblings.

            “Let me find some pictures to show Aries; that should help us figure out which side he’s on,” Narcissa said, rising from the table and setting her napkin down on the table.

            It only took Narcissa a few minutes to find the photo album of when Draco was little. “Alright Aries, come here and look at the photos with Grandmother,” she called.

            Draco let Aries down out of the highchair and the toddler scampered over to sit on Narcissa’s lap. She showed her grandson a spread of photos of when the family had visited a dragon reserve, complete with an adorable little Draco.

            “Da-on!” Aries cried, pointing at the dragon.

            “Yes, dragon, very good Aries.” Then Narcissa turned to a spread of when the family had visited the zoo one time. There were loads of animals, but no bunnies. “See Aries, the zoo, where there are lots of animals,” she explained.

            “Bunny?” Aries asked.

            “No bunnies, but lions, tigers, chimpanzees, gorillas, giraffes, and zebras,” Narcissa answered.

            “Da-on?” Aries asked.

            “Yes, we can see the dragons again,” Narcissa replied, turning back to the page with the dragons.

            “Yay! Da-on!” Aries cried, clapping his hands.

            “Ries, you’re my fav-rite brothar ever!” Cael exclaimed, jumping up and giving Aries and Narcissa a hug.

            Scorp and Cyg cheered too, requesting high-fives and hugs from their baby brother. Brax, Lyra, and Cassy were somewhat disappointed that their side had lost, but at least they might possibly be taken to a dragon reserve. Draco and Narcissa refused to actually confirm they were going without speaking to Harry. Draco needed to ask if Harry was willing to fund a trip of that expenditure and they would need Harry to go with them if they were going out in public. In fact, they might just need the park closed off so that they don’t get mobbed by reporters.

            “Alright kids, that’s enough excitement. Finish your lunches, because it’s time to get back to school,” Narcissa announced, earning a series of groans from the older children.

            Draco took the younger children upstairs for their afternoon routine. Nappies and Cyg’s soiled y-fronts had to be changed and the baby nursed. While Draco worked, he sang the alphabet song and found things to count. When the chores were done, he sat the children down for twenty minutes of going over their shapes, colors, numbers, and letters, before tucking them in for naps. He was tired and wished he could lie down and sleep too, but he had a backlog of other chores to do. It was planting season for his biggest crop of the year. He’d been working on it for weeks now and was almost finish, but with the expanding size of his family, he’d have to expand the field again this year. Thus he went outside to the edge of his field and went back to work.

            With Draco farming, Narcissa had to tend to the little ones after their naps. She took Carina out to Draco to nurse and fed the others their afternoon snacks. By then the older children were out of school for the day and outside playing, so she had a bit of peace and quiet inside to devote to teaching Cyg and Cassy how to write their letters and color nicely. She gave Aries parchment and crayons too, but he was too little to do anything other than scribble.

            After that was the usual family dinner, minus Harry, who was late home from work. Narcissa was having the children wash up after dinner, while changing Carina’s nappy and Draco was sitting back in one of the new armchairs nursing Aries when Harry came home. Harry often came home late, missing dinner. He had paperwork that needed to get filed before coming home and he didn’t think the children should have to wait on him. He’d eat with the family if he made it before they finished, but if not, he’d eat when he got there. There was always a child or two willing to keep him company.

            “Draco, can we talk?” Harry asked.

            “Yes, just let me finish up,” Draco answered. Aries was full, Draco could tell by the way the toddler’s sucking had gone slack and slow between. “Are you done yet baby boy?” He stroked Aries’ cheek as he spoke. “Hmm?”

            It was another minute before Aries let go and Draco put him down. Draco then led Harry to his bedroom and sat on the bed, sorting through gifts of baby clothing that had arrived that day, organizing them by size.

            “Draco, did you, um, see this morning’s article in the Prophet?” Harry asked. Part of him hoped that Draco hadn’t read it, but he didn’t really want that to be the case, because he didn’t want to be responsible for telling Draco.

            “Yes.”

            “And, er, what did you think about it?”

            “I wish they hadn’t written it. The children read the article and I had to explain away all of the misconceptions. But what really makes me mad, is that it actually said that we have sex together in that blasted article! Apparently the children were discussing whether or not it was true, can you believe it? And they were talking about it in front of Aries. My little Aries repeated that blasted word back to me!”

            “That’s awful. I can’t imagine having to talk to the kids about my sex life.”

            “Well you can expect them to ask you; they were asking me.”

            “What did you tell them?”

            “I told them that I don’t ever want to marry, because I don’t like to snog. You have to snog your wife if you marry.”

            This was a point of curiosity for Harry, because he had never been able to tell if Draco was gay, straight, or bi. For the most part, Draco seemed to have zero interest in either sex. Harry, himself, was bi, but had never had a chance to fully explore his sexuality, given his long-term relationship with Ginny. He partially explored it with her, because it was she who brought the gay porn and dildos into the house in the first place, which lead to his self-discovery. Now that he was single and in daily contact with a man who was pregnant with his ninth child, he’d begun to think more about what it’d be like to actually be in a relationship with a man.

            “Have you ever snogged anyone before?”

            “Pansy, before Scorp.”

            “Oh, no wonder you don’t like it.” Harry shouldn’t have said it, but it slipped out before he could stop himself.

            “I liked it alright at the time, but I can’t imagine doing it again.”

            “So you don’t ever plan on dating? Even if your mum and I watch the kids for you? I wouldn’t mind. I won’t be jealous, yeah?”

            At least Harry thought he wouldn’t be jealous; it was such an unfathomable occurrence that he didn’t know how he’d react if Draco went out while pregnant. But he definitely wanted to encourage Draco to move on from the rape and begin to explore his sexuality again. Draco would probably have to start over from the beginning, like a teenager, but it was in his best interest. Having an emotionally healthy father for his children was among Harry’s interests, hence his question.

            Draco shuddered in disgust. “I should hope you aren’t jealous of me; the thought alone is enough to make me hurl.”

            “Draco, you’re avoiding the question. Why don’t you ever date?”

            “I don’t want to,” Draco looked down at his hands in his lap. “After what happened, I just can’t do it. I don’t have that type of desire anymore; not like I did when I was a teenager.”

            “I’m so sorry for what he did to you. I wish I could go back and make sure he never touched you. But if you wanted to date someone now, it wouldn’t be like it was with him. If you don’t feel safe, then I could go with you and make sure that they didn’t hurt you.”

            “She.”

            “Huh?”

            “She. When I was interested in that type of thing, I was interested in doing them with witches. I dated Pansy, remember?”

            “Hey, isn’t Pansy single again? You could owl her and ask her to come over.”

            “Harry, what makes you think anyone is going to want me when I’m five months pregnant with your _ninth_ child? You don’t even think anyone will have you and you’re the Savior.”

            “That’s not true; Ginny says she’ll have me, but I’m the one who doesn’t want to date right now. I want to focus on our family. I missed so much of their lives and I don’t want to miss another moment because I’m on a date. It’s bad enough that I missed Carina learning to crawl, because I was at work. Severus is going to be here in a few months and I don’t want to miss any part of it. Merlin, I wish this Manor was larger so there was room for me to move in too. I hate the thought of you coming home from hospital with the baby and me not being here to help.

            “You want to move in with us? You’ve never said so before.”

            “Because I knew space was already tight. I’ve enjoyed the few times I’ve stayed the night.”

            “You have never seen the attic apartment, have you?”

            “No, I’ve never had need to go up there. Why?”

            “Because it’s bloody huge. It’s a real studio apartment, set up for my grandparents to live in, with separate wards and a kitchenette and loo. My grandparents died years ago and ever since we’ve only used it for storage. If you took the extra duplicates to your house, then you could move in there.”

            “Alright, I would like to have a bed over here. I won’t move all of my stuff or sleep here every night, but it’ll be nice to have the option. All I really need is room for a bed, chest of drawers, a few books, and my antidote kit.”

            “There’s more than enough room for all of that up there. If you have your elf transfer out the extra duplicates, I’ll tell Mother to work on setting the apartment up again.”

            “Thank you so much; this really means a lot to me.”

            “It does?”

            “Yes, it does, because it will mean a chance to be closer to my children. And I’ve asked for some time off of work when you have the baby, so I can spend the first month home with you. It’ll be really great.”

            “Just don’t tell the kids until it’s around the corner, because I don’t want them pestering me about when you’re moving in. I already had to explain to them that we’re not going to marry.”

            “Don’t tell me they believed what the Prophet said!”

            “Not all of them, but a few of them believed it. Don’t worry, I squashed that dream dead.

            “Good. No offense.”

            “I don’t want to marry you either; I’m happy the way things are.”

            “Me too.”

            “There’s something else I need to talk to you about,” Draco said, summoning his bank statement.

            “What is it? Did the birth certificates come yet?” Harry asked.

            “They did, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”

            “Then what?”

            “There is a lot of extra money in my vault. Four hundred eighty galleons more than we agreed,” Draco said, holding out the paper and pointing to the extra deposits.

            “Oh, no, this isn’t extra. These are your monthly support payments. See, I’ve been paying twenty galleons per child per month, like we talked about.

            “I don’t remember agreeing to that. I thought I said eighty galleons a month?”

            “Well you said at least eighty, but I didn’t agree to that.”

            “And anyway, that was before I knew you were just going to pay for all of our expenses. You paid for Cael’s new glasses, the birth certificates, and the new carpet last week. I was going to charge the grocery and stationary bills to the expense account, you know, with the hundred galleons. Did you not want me to give you the receipts anymore?” Draco asked confused.

            “No, I still want the receipts and to reimburse you, especially if it’s a cost associated with having me and Teddy here. I just wanted you to have your own money to do whatever you want with. You don’t have to tell me how you spend it or check with me first. It’s your money that I owe you to support our children. I know I haven’t even begun to repay you all of the back support I owe. Truthfully I’m not that great at maths, so I’ve no idea how much I owe. For now I thought it would be okay if I paid you what you were getting for Cael, but for each of them.”

            “Let’s consider us even as far as back support goes if you fix up the house, like you’ve already been doing, and buy the children their Hogwarts supplies.”

            “Deal. And I’ll have someone out to look at those rusty pipes soon.”

            “Um, okay. But I don’t understand how you can afford to give me so much. How much do you make?”

            “Two hundred fifty galleons a month.”

            “And how much of that are you spending on me and the children?”

            “Most of it,” Harry admitted. He didn’t need much, because he owned his house and he already had plenty of clothes. All he needed was food for his breakfasts and lunches and cleaning supplies for Kreacher.

            “And how much is left for you?”

            “Are we counting the money I give you for my food and stuff I want for the children?”

            “No.”

            “Well, then…Um, around ten galleons per month.”

            “So you’re spending two-hundred forty galleons a month on us?” Draco asked, suddenly feeling rather faint.

            “Yesss….Is that a bad thing? In my defense, I should’ve been paying you support payments all along and you only needed so much because I haven’t been doing my duty.” Harry decided to leave out the handful of times he’d had to dip into his inheritance for the major purchases, such as the furniture and dress robes so shortly after the playground.

            “I think I should lie down,” Draco said, slowly moving into a reclining position on his bed, careful so that he didn’t fall as his head spun.

            “Should I get you something? Some water?” Harry asked concerned and Draco nodded.

            Harry summoned a cup, filled it full of water with a spell, and handed it over. Draco took a deep gulp. The cold liquid helped clear Draco’s head and he suddenly remembered the children’s reaction to hearing about the money.

            “The children decided that if we have a surplus of funds, they would like to go to a dragon reserve. I’ll pay for it with my support money.”

            “I don’t know about that, not with the way we were mobbed yesterday…and that was just the two of us.”

            Draco sighed. He didn’t like disappointing his children and he’d already done so, so much in their short lives. “Any chance you’re willing to tell them the bad news?”

            “No…”

            “I thought not,” Draco said dejectedly.

            “No, I mean wait. Ron’s brother Charlie works at a dragon reserve in Romania. I might be able to arrange something with him. Do the children have a specific dragon reserve in mind, or might the one in Romania be alright?”

            “You should ask Cael; he’s the one who wants to be just like you and ride a dragon. He spear headed the campaign. But as far as I’m aware, any reserve will do.”

            “Brilliant and Andy was just asking me what we’re going to do for Teddy’s birthday this year. We could arrange the trip for his birthday. It’s less than three weeks away and I just haven’t had time to arrange something this year.”

            “That’s not really fair to Teddy, when it’s Cael who wants to go.”

            “Nonsense, Teddy loves dragons! He’s asked me loads of times to take him. The alternative is Andy putting together a small party at her place, but he’s had so many parties. There’s no point throwing him another if we can manage a trip to see dragons instead. I’ll take some time off from work and take them all. It’ll be great!”

            “Alright, but only if you okay it with Teddy first,” Draco said. He remembered a great many incidences that had occurred when he’d failed to ask a child what they wanted to do for their birthday. Not that his children had ever had much choice before, but he’d still given them their pick of a number of free activities they could do around the Manor, such as fishing, swimming, camping, or a family party at home.

            “I will and Cael too. I don’t want him upset that we’re not saving the dragon reserve for his birthday, when he’s the one whose idea it was,” Harry replied and Draco agreed.

            The first thing Harry did was to put in a firecall to Charlie Weasley and ask if he could cordon off the reserve for them sometime around Teddy’s birthday. It was short notice, but they happened to have a clean-up and maintenance period scheduled a week after Teddy’s birthday. The park would already be shut-off from their regular visitors for those three days and their regular attractions, such as guided tours and shows displaying trained dragons, would be absent while the trainers moved dragons around in anticipation of mating season. But if Harry and the kids didn’t mind the chaos or entertaining themselves, they were welcome to come.

            Harry thanked Charlie profusely and since he was already at Malfoy Manor, he went to talk to Cael next.

            “You wanta know whether I wanta visit the dragon reserf in three weeks for Teddy’s birfday or wait ova three months for my birfday?” Cael asked incredulously.

            “Yes, I do. If you want to wait, we’ll wait,” Harry replied.

            “Salazar no I don’t wanta wait! I wanta go right now! Teddy’s birfday is gonna be awesome!” Cael announced, jumping up in his excitement.

            “Wait, first I have to confirm it with Andy and Teddy, so don’t go telling all of the other kids yet,” Harry said.

            “Can I go with you ta ask Teddy? I wanta make sure he knows how awesome dragons are!”

            “I think he knows, but yes, I’d love for you to come,” Harry replied.

            They told Draco where they were going first and then they flooed over to Andy’s house. Teddy was having his evening bath, which worked out perfectly, because it meant Cael couldn’t spoil the surprise and that Harry had a chance to clear it with Andy first. Cael was sent to play in Teddy’s room by himself while the adults spoke in the kitchen.

            “So what do you think? Would it be okay if we canceled the party and all went to Romania for a few days instead?” Harry asked.

            “And you can get the time off?”

            “Yes, I have some time coming. I’ve been saving it for when the baby comes, but I can take three days off for the trip,” Harry confirmed.

            “Then I think it’s a wonderful idea. Teddy has so wanted to go.”

            “Great! Then I just have to ask Teddy if it’s alright.”

            “Oh I’m sure it will be. What we need to do is arrange for some additional adult chaperones. If Charlie and the other trainers won’t be on duty, then we’ll have to keep extra close watch on the children. The four of us adults won’t be enough,” Andy replied.

            “I’ll ask Ron and Hermione.”

            “Try Molly and Arthur too. I’m sure they’d love a reason to see Charlie again.”

            Harry agreed and the two of them discussed a few of the details, like where they would stay, until they heard Teddy emerge from the bath. Not wanting Cael to ruin it, Harry rushed back to Teddy’s room.

            “Whatcha doing here?” Teddy asked surprised, toweling off his lime green hair.

            “Daddy brough’ me here ta-” Cael was saying when Harry interrupted.

            “Not yet Cael, let Teddy get dressed first, then we’ll tell him.”

            “You’re not s’posed ta say the G-word. Father won’t like it,” Cael replied.

            “Right, sorry. Come on Cael, let’s go in the living room so that Teddy can put his clothes on,” Harry suggested.

            Cael agreed, but was practically bouncing off the walls in his excitement. Not only were they going to visit a dragon reserve, but Teddy also had tons of cool toys that they didn’t have at the Manor. Harry managed to keep Cael from spoiling the surprise, but Teddy knew something was up when he joined them in the living room a few minutes later.

            “Teddy, what Cael and I came here to talk to you about is your birthday,” Harry started. By this point, Cael was bouncing up and down on the sofa in his excitement. “Do you want to ask him Cael?”

            “Yeah! Teddy, Father and Daddy are gonna take us ta a dragon reserf for your birfday!” Cael announced.

            “But, only if you want to. Otherwise we’ll wait until Cael’s birthday and take you with us,” Harry said.

            Teddy’s jaw dropped, but he didn’t say anything.

            “Now Teddy, I told you that I’d only be able to manage a small party this year, if we were to do it here. There has just been too much going on to invite all your friends from school,” Andy said.

            “Why would I wanna have a party here when we’re gonna see dragons?” Teddy asked perplexed.

            “Because your friend David won’t be able to come,” Andy suggested.

            “So? My new brothers and sisters are going, right?” Teddy asked.

            “Yes,” Harry confirmed.

            “Then I choose dragons!” Teddy exclaimed.

            Cael screeched in excitement and the two boys took off running around the room yelling about how great dragons were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next is Teddy’s birthday at the dragon reserve. Any ideas for what a bunch of mischievous Potter spawn should get up to? I don’t want them to do anything too dangerous…but I think they could attempt something extremely dangerous and get caught.


	14. Chapter14

            In April Harry arranged individual outings with his other children. Cyg was interested in bugs, so Harry took him to a muggle bug museum, featuring beautiful collections of colorful insects. The butterflies were breathtaking, but Cyg’s favorite had been the colorful beetles. During the outing Harry realized that his middle son felt overshadowed by his many siblings. Cyg was neither the oldest, nor the youngest, and he’d yet to find an area where he shined the brightest. Harry took the opportunity of time together to make Cyg feel special for once.

            Cassy had wanted to go to a store where they did princess make-overs. It was the type of glittery little girl store Harry had never once set foot inside and did so now only because she wanted it so much. She was a regular little princess and had a tiara added to her hair to prove it. In addition to the tiara, she’d practically taken a bath in the glitter and asked him for a play makeup kit. He bought it, but told her it had to wait for her birthday. He’d found out then that she could play the part of the spoiled two year old and throw a wild tantrum in the store just as good as any child.

            Lyra had been a harder child to pick an activity for. Harry hadn’t been able to come up with any decent ideas when Brax asked his new dad to take him and Lyra to visit Angelina Weasley. Brax had admired Angelina’s hair at the Ministry gala and had been waiting for another chance to see the witch, because she had promised to teach him to braid Lyra’s hair. They had all been so busy lately that a family gathering hadn’t come up and he had yet to see the witch again. He really wanted to learn to braid, thus his request.

            Harry thought taking Lyra and Brax to visit Angelina, George, and Fred Weasley on a Saturday afternoon sounded like a good idea. If Lyra liked being pampered as much as Cassy did, then she’d love getting a fancy hairdo. Harry had no idea she would hate having her hair done as much as she did, being the opposite of Cassy in that regard. The only things she’d enjoyed about the outing was playing with little Fred and George showing them some of his latest merchandise. Brax, on the other hand, was ecstatic with his new braiding skill and braided anything he could get his hands on.

            Harry was disappointed that Lyra hadn’t liked her outing, so he resolved to think of something better to take her to do next time. In the meantime, he still had patient little Aries to do. Aries didn’t even know what was going on most of the time and therefore didn’t know he was missing something, which was why the toddler was patient, not saying a word. Harry thought it should be easier to find something for Lyra, who was old enough to talk and say what she wanted, than it would be for Aries, who barely spoke, but it wasn’t. Aries liked bunnies and Harry’s friend Luna just happened to be raising a pair of magical bunnies.

            Luna insisted that the magical bunnies were in fact Jargelking Smoutices, but they were in fact nothing more than common magical rabbits with color shifting eyes. The grey bunnies had blue eyes when they first arrived, but like Teddy, their eye color shifted as quickly as the wind. Aries was thrilled, shouting, “Bunny!” and clapping when he saw them. Luna let him hold a bunny and he practically squeezed it to death in his effort to hug it. The bunny didn’t like that and scratched the toddler, but that was soon fixed up with a bit of first-aid magic.

            Harry enjoyed the outing, because it gave him a rare chance to see Luna. She was a very busy witch these days, hunting all over the world for various crypto-species. She’d just gotten back from an expedition to Sumatra to look for more specimens of orang pendek, a creature her team had succeeded in capturing and characterizing for the first time a few years back. The apes were tricky things to catch, so they hadn’t been successful in their latest attempt, but were still considered a success for finding the thing in the first place. With her globe-trotting, it wasn’t often Harry caught her at home and he was glad of it.

            With Aries’ outing completed, it was time to shift to thinking about birthdays. Harry still wanted a do-over with Lyra, but that could wait until after Teddy’s birthday. The trip to the dragon reserve was still on and that meant making a lot of arrangements, including reservations and booking portkeys.

 

* * *

 

 

            In the days leading up to Teddy’s birthday, Draco came to Harry and informed the wizard of his desire to pay his share of the cost. Draco had the child support money Harry paid him regularly and it had been his children’s idea to go in the first place, so he wanted to pay. Charlie was opening up the reserve to them free and although Harry planned on leaving a donation anyway, that wasn’t the major cost associated with the trip. There were two portkeys and the hotel rooms to cover and Draco wanted to cover his share of it.

            “No Draco, I’m paying for it for Teddy’s birthday. Save your money for something else,” Harry tried to reassure Draco. He’d take the money out of his vault to cover the expense.

            “Like what? I already bought Scorp new used clothes thanks to you fattening him up. You pay all of our expenses and for the first time I have money I don’t know what to do with,” Draco replied.

            It was true Harry had deliberately fattened his oldest son up. Scorp was the same age as Teddy, but several inches taller and had worn Teddy’s clothes from the previous year. Scorp was way too thin and as such Harry had made sure to bring Scorp sweets and encouraged the boy to eat more whenever he could. Scorp was still skinny, but now he was as big around as Teddy and so needed bigger clothes. Draco had taken his child support money to a local used clothing store and even purchased a few new things, such as underpants, but that had barely made a dent in the growing pile of galleons in his vault. Every month Harry added another hundred sixty galleons to it.

            “Buy something frivolous then. Whatever you want; new clothes, something for the house, or go to the spa for the day,” Harry said.

            “The spa? You want me to go to the spa?” Draco asked incredulously.

            “Yes. What’s wrong with that?”

            “What’s wrong is that I haven’t wasted _any_ money since getting out of Azkaban and now you want me to up and go to the spa?”

            “Well something else then. That corner over there is empty. What used to be there before the Ministry confiscated all of your possessions?” Harry asked pointing to a corner in the sitting room, where they were currently standing, on the second floor.

            “Shelves with expensive and rare trinkets my family collected or made through the centuries. I remember there was a musical box with an abraxan that twirled around, its wings flapping up and down, as the music played. And there were Order of Merlin medallions along with an award from Gellert Grindelwald for Services to the Greater Good to my grandfather Abraxas.”

            “Your family stored Order of Merlins next to an award from Grindelwald?” Harry snickered at the irony.

            “Yes, what’s so funny?”

            “It’s just that one is pro-muggle and the other wanted to imprison the muggles.”

            Draco shrugged, but said nothing.

            “Well why don’t you buy something along those lines: a shelf and something to display on it. It doesn’t matter what,” Harry continued.

            “I don’t know…”

            “Maybe you’ll get some ideas while we’re at the dragon reserve,” Harry suggested and Draco nodded, dropping the subject.

            Harry took off three days from work for the trip. It was a big group to organize, because not only where the Malfoys, Andromeda, and Teddy going, but so were half a dozen Weasleys. Ron, Hermione, Arthur, and Molly had been asked along to help supervise. Molly and Arthur had arranged to bring their two oldest granddaughters, Victoire and Lucy for the trip, so that made six of them. Harry was not about to complain about having two extra kids along; not when they came with four adults, doubling the number of adults.

            Tuesday morning they all gathered on the Malfoy front lawn for their portkey. The children were arranged around an old raincoat, grabbing onto the fabric, with the adults interspersed. Carina, Aries, and Cassy were all so young that they were carried by adults. Cyg probably should’ve been too, because there was a near disaster when the portkey was first taking off, spiraling away into the sky. The child’s small fingers had slipped and he’d almost fallen to the ground, but Arthur, who he was next to, caught him in time.

            The portkey spit the family out in the mountains of Romania in the middle of secluded cabin grounds. The cabins were usually teaming with tourists from the dragon reserve, but with the three day shutdown of the reserve, they were deserted. It was the lull of the off season so most of the locals who were normally there to cater and sell trinkets to the tourists were gone. There were still a handful of employees and a few straggling guests, but it was as deserted as they could ever hope.

            Harry was the most recognizable of the group; if they could keep him from being noticed, no one would care about the large family group. The plan was for him to disguise his face during the trip, so that no one would figure out who they all were. Being an Auror, he had plenty of experience changing his appearance, from Polyjuice to glamor charms, altering one’s appearance was the bread and butter of an Auror. Today his hair was brown, not black, his eyes blue, not green, and he had a giant hooked nose. He added a khaki colored sun hat to match his khaki hiking clothes, which were new items he’d never worn before. They weren’t his type at all and he’d let a muggle pick them out from a muggle store, in hopes of throwing people off of his trail.

            Most of the children thought the portkey was great fun, like a flying ride at the fair or a broom ride, but Lucy and Carina cried at the foreign sensation. The older Malfoy children were especially adept at this form of travel, already knowing how to walk down to the ground at the end, thanks to their biannual portkeys to visit Lucius in Azkaban. Teddy and Victoire tried to copy, but ended up falling flat on their faces. Arthur had hold of Cyg, ever since the three-year-old had almost slipped off at the beginning, but the child asked to be let go at the end and sort of ran down to the ground clumsily.

            The large group then made their way towards the front desk of the resort, where they checked in. They obtained five rooms and quickly stowed their gear. Then they took off to the reserve to meet Charlie for lunch. Molly brought a large home-cooked picnic lunch with her and the group found a sunny patch of grass to sit and eat. Charlie spoke of the wonderful progress the reserve was making in caring for the dragons and rehabilitating certain troublesome dragons, while Molly kept pestering her son about his personal life.

            “When are you going to settle down with the right woman, Charlie?” Molly asked pointedly.

            “Whenever I get around to it, Mum. What’s the rush?” Charlie asked good naturedly.

            “I’m not getting any younger and I’d like to meet all of my grandchildren before I die,” Molly replied and Charlie sighed.

            “Molly, give him a break. He still has time,” Arthur told his wife gently.

            “Oh alright,” Molly replied.

            After lunch, Charlie showed the group a bit of the reservation and gave the adults schedules. The trainers would be working on a different portion each day at a given time and the group needed to avoid those areas in order to stay out of the way. Arthur assured his son that they would. Then Charlie gave them a quick safety briefing, instructing them to stay to the beaten paths and not under any circumstances to approach a dragon, especially a caged one. The caged ones were the dangerous ones who were prone to spout fire at humans at the slightest provocation.

            Charlie had to get back to work, so the group started walking around the paths. The park was deserted and they passed several signs for attractions, such as trained dragons doing tricks, rides on the back of a tamed dragon, and a tour guide, which were all closed. They continued on, walking up rugged terrain through green brush until they finally saw a dark green Romanian Longhorn rise into the sky, with the mountains in the background. It was a bulky looking creature with two straight golden horns, more like a flying bull than the graceful creatures Harry had seen before.

            “Woah!” Did ya see that!?!” Teddy shouted excitedly.

            “Yes! It’s awesome!” Cael replied and the other older children agreed.

            “I’mma ride one!” Cyg proclaimed.

            “Me too,” Lyra added.

            “No, no one is going to ride any dragons!” Arthur ordered loudly. “Anyone who tries will be killed and their corpses will never be allowed back in the park.”

            “Unless the dragons eat us and turn us to dragon poo!” Cael exclaimed excitedly.

            “Only your child, Harry, would ever be excited about the prospect of being turned into dragon poo,” Draco muttered, trudging along in his pregnant state. Being five and a half months pregnant didn’t make the uphill walk any easier and he’d fallen behind. He’d kept walking while the others stopped to watch the dragon’s flight and had just now caught up.

            “How do you know he doesn’t get that from your side of the family?” Harry asked and Draco just rolled his eyes.

            “Alright, continue on,” Arthur directed, playing tour guide. He was one of the few adults here who’d been to this reserve before, so he knew where he was going.

            They started hiking up the mountain again and before long they arrived at a side path that went down to a caged balcony, overlooking a bit of dragon nesting grounds. It was before mating season, but the old fledglings were there just learning to fly. There was a rather muscular looking green and gold female with two smaller fledglings. The fledglings were using their claws to climb up the side of the mountain to a cliff that they would then jump off of, flapping their wings in their attempt to fly. But they were very bulky creatures and their wings were still small and weak, so it wasn’t going too well.

            “Da-on!” Aries shouted, pointing to another dragon, just flying in.

            The new dragon had half of a horse in its mouth, which it deposited on the ground for the young dragons. The fledglings quickly abandoned their task and rushed at the meat, fighting each other and spouting small stunted flames at one another. It was a great show and all from the safety of the enclosed balcony.

            Most of the group stayed there and watched the dragons for several hours, but Harry, Ron, and Arthur led a group of the older and more adventurous children exploring up the path. They took Teddy, Victoire, and the oldest five Malfoy children up a dirt path leading into the mountain, to a deserted nesting site. There was a sign saying that this had once been a regularly nesting site where dozens of dragons were hatched and raised, but the mated pair who had occupied it had died five years back. There was plenty of evidence of dragon activity, from scorch marks on the ground to claw marks in the rock, and a worn indentation with an accumulation of soft plant fibers where the nest had been. Brax even found a fragment of a large egg shell and Victoire a baby dragon tooth, which they were allowed to keep; the fact that they were allowed to take things was why there were so few things left to find.

 

            They started heading back when the sun set over the mountain peak. The sky was still light, but Molly and Arthur warned that the temperature would drop rapidly once the sun was no longer visible, so the group made their way back to the cabins. Draco and the younger children were exhausted, not having had their afternoon nap, so they lay right down. The other children were allowed to play outside while the adults unpacked.

            They had a large birthday dinner for Teddy that night, even though his birthday had been the week before, singing happy birthday to him. There was cake and ice cream along with a few presents that had been saved for him. He had a great time.

            “This is the best birthday ever!” Teddy proclaimed.

            The next morning they went back to the park and viewed a number of other dragon species. This was one of the largest reserves full stop and there were many non-native dragons moved here when muggles began encroaching on their lands. Smaller reserves couldn’t handle rehabilitating dragons or taking in new dragons, so injured and misplaced dragons tended to end up here. There were a great number of them, including Norberta, the dragon Hagrid had hatched from an egg. Norberta was thriving with a new pair of hatchlings and a sturdy looking mate.

            The dragons were closer together in this part of the park. The group stayed away from the section of caged dragons, but the free ones, despite being tamer, were close enough to still be potentially dangerous. The dragons lived in closely packed wizard-made tunnels along the side of the mountains and there were twenty and seventy foot high fences separating them from the humans, providing some level of protection. The fence was a double layer of thick magically reinforced rod iron that formed a double dome overhead, protecting them from above from flying dragons. The layers of rod iron were fifty feet apart, keeping the dragons and humans far enough apart so that dragon fire couldn’t cross the fence and endanger their lives. Although the fence wasn’t completely dragon proof, because the animals could tear it apart if they were truly enraged. They were relying on the judgment of the dragon keepers to ensure there weren’t any dangerously aggressive dragons in this section of the park.

            The group was treated to a surprise that morning when one young dragon landed right above them and roared loudly. It didn’t flame though, instead pelting them with dragon dung as it took a shite overhead; the fences were designed to prevent flames from making it through, not feces and the cheeky creature seemed to know it. Cassy, the Weasley girls, and the witches screamed in disgust, while Cyg led the charge for the boys, racing forward to be the first to snag a chunk of warm squishy dragon dung. The other boys and Lyra followed, rushing forward to grab their own samples, creating quite the mess for the adults to clean up.

            It wasn’t long after that when Cael started climbing the fence, trying to get closer to the myriad of dragons flying overhead. Not that he could ever climb over it, because at the top it joined to the fence on the other side, which was a very good thing; otherwise one of the children might just have climbed over and gone off to live with the dragons. Teddy, Scorp, and Lyra all followed Cael’s lead, so the adults spent a good deal of the day telling the kids to get down off of the fence.

            They had a picnic lunch in the reserve, after which Draco and the younger children went back to their cabin for a nap. The rest of the group made their way into the local village where dragon paraphernalia could still be purchased, even in the down season. Draco had given each of his children five galleons of pocket money for the trip and Teddy and the Weasley girls had their own money, so they had a bit of a shopping trip. The only question was what to buy.

            The store had everything dragon related imaginable, from dragon print clothing, to stuffed dragons, to dragon action figures, dragon hats, and even boots made out of authentic dragon hide. Victoire and Lucy both chose dresses with holographic pictures of dragons on them. Harry figured Cassy would like one too, so he used the five galleons Draco had given her to get one for her too. The rest of the kids went right to the pretend dragon swords, which made cool sounds and flashed bright lights. Each sword came with a backstory, saying which gruesome dragon it had allegedly slain and a carving of said dragon in the hilt. Harry figured Cyg would wand a sword too, so he used the child’s spending money to pick one up. As for Aries and Carina, he picked up a pair of large stuffed dragons that talked when squeezed.

            They hung around the town and a few people came out to offer their services on the slow day, such as a painter, a photographer, and a carver. This was the Malfoy family’s first family outing, so Harry paid for all three, buying a portrait and a photograph of the group along with wooden plaques engraved with dragons and their names. The younger children missed out on the photo and the portrait, but he made sure to buy them wooden dragon plaques to make up for it.

            After the village the group was exhausted from all the walking and flooed back to the cabins, where they had another family dinner.

            That night Teddy, Scorp, and Cael, who were rooming with Harry, were late returning from Andy’s cabin. Teddy, as he had the night before, went to tell his grandmother goodnight. The other two boys had asked to go with him tonight and Harry had agreed. She was only in the next cabin over, so what could possibly happen?

            Andy bustled up to Harry’s cabin and knocked. “Harry?” she called, opening the door. “I came to get Lyra and Brax; it’s getting late.

            Harry looked at Andy with confusion. “Andy? What do you mean? I let the boys go over to your cabin. Lyra and Brax were never here.”

            “No, I let Lyra and Brax come over here to see you. Teddy came to say goodnight alone, like he always does, and took them back with him. He said you were going to read them a bedtime story.”

            “Right, you get Ron and Arthur and I’ll start tracking,” Harry said, already rummaging through his rucksack full of Auror supplies. Andy agreed and took off.

            Harry needed a swig of polyjuice so that he wouldn’t be recognized and his bum-pack full of emergency potions, including his tracking powder. It was then that he realized that his invisibility cloak was gone. He knew he packed it; he always packed it, but it was gone. He grabbed the bum-pack, took a swig of polyjuice, and ran to Ron’s cabin while his body changed into someone else. Ron was in the last cabin, closest to the dragon reserve. Harry knocked, opened the door, and said, “Ron, the kids have taken off with my invisibility cloak. Come quick.”

            There was no time to wait for a reply, so Harry didn’t. Instead he pulled out the tracking powder and blew it into the wind. He saw the footsteps he’d just taken along with Andy’s, heading in the opposite direction towards Arthur’s cabin. Then he saw five small sets walking in a tight cluster towards the reserve. He took off at a run, leaving Ron in his dust without further explanation, but he wasn’t ahead for long, because Ron and Arthur had brooms.

            The Weasley men shot ahead down the path, leaving Harry behind running after. Five minutes later, when he was still running along the path trying to catch up, Ron’s terrier patronus returned with a message.

            “Harry, we’ve caught them. Dad and I are bringing them back now,” Ron’s voice boomed out of the wispy canine.

            Harry sent his own patronus along to Andy with the same message, just as he saw Arthur’s patronus race ahead ignoring him, likely on its way to Molly.

            It wasn’t long before the Weasley men came trudging back along the trail, brooms in hand with five guilty looking children between them. Harry started in with his questions, but Arthur stopped him, saying that they should get back to the cabins before they start; Draco, Narcissa, and Andy would want to be there for the story and subsequent punishments as well.

            When they made it back to the cabins, all of the adults were waiting in their doorways. Andy was with Draco and Narcissa, apparently offering emotional support in this time of crisis. They marched the children into Harry’s cabin and Draco and Andy joined them, leaving Hermione, Molly, and Narcissa to watch the remaining children.

            Arthur lined the children up along the wall, most of who were staring at their shoes, the ceiling, or the walls; anywhere other than making eye contact with the adults.

            “Ron and I caught them trying to climb the fence to enter the reserve. Teddy admitted that they were trying to ride a dragon. They apparently don’t have a problem with being killed and banned from the park,” Arthur explained.

            “They had your invisibility cloak Harry. That must’ve been how they snuck away without being seen,” Ron said, pulling out the cloak from his pocket, before tossing it to Harry.

            “You children were extremely irresponsible and almost got yourselves killed, all to ride a dragon,” Arthur said, speaking to the line of children. “What the five of you don’t know is that my son Charlie is planning on bringing a _tame_ dragon for you to ride tomorrow.” Several of the children, including Cael, Scorp, and Teddy, gasped at this proclamation. “You didn’t have to nearly get yourselves killed in order to ride one. And if you die tonight, you won’t be around tomorrow to ride Charlie’s dragon. Next time you should _ask an adult_ and see if we can arrange a _safe_ way for you to do what you want.”

            The children nodded, sufficiently chastised.

            “I have half a mind to ban the lot of you from riding the dragon tomorrow as punishment for your egregious behavior tonight. I want to know whose idea it was, so I know which of you to ground for life. If you want to ride that dragon tomorrow, I suggest the rest of you give up the guilty party now,” Draco said sternly, eyeing each child in turn.

            “He did it,” Teddy confessed, pointing at Cael and all of the children, except for Cael, nodded in agreement.

            “Caelum Lucius Malfoy, I am _extremely_ disappointed in you. For attempting to lead the others to their deaths, you will be severely punished; I suspect you will become closely acquainted with Madam Loryn when we return home. The rest of you are on restriction for two weeks; no dessert, extra homework, and three hours with Madam Loryn a week. Cael, it’s double that for you; four weeks with six hours per week on the third floor,” Draco proclaimed, before turning to Andy. “That is, if that punishment is alright with you Aunt Andy?”

            “Certainly, although I don’t have a horrible portrait or a third floor,” Andy replied.

            “You are welcome to bring him over for his three hours, but not to play. I’ll work up a schedule,” Draco said.

            With that settled, Andy took her two off to bed and Ron and Arthur volunteered to put Harry’s three to bed, because Harry and Draco needed to talk. Draco led Harry out to the picnic tables in the middle of the ring of cabins and sat down. It was cold, so they cast heating charms on themselves.

            “Harry, I’ve said this to you before, but I _do not_ have an extra child. I am deeply attached to and fond of all of them. If you’d let four of them and your godson meet their doom tonight, I would never forgive you. As it is, I’m very cross with you for letting them fool you,” Draco said.

            “How was I to know? They told me they were going to Andy’s!” Harry protested.

            “And they told my aunt they were going to your cabin, but you two were the adults and you should have seen through their lie. You should have walked them over or at least looked out the door or window to see that they made it. And you definitely should _not_ have let them sneak off with your invisibility cloak.”

            “Alright, I’ll try harder. This won’t happen again.”

            “Absolutely, because we will not be coming here again.”

            “No, Draco, that’s not fair to the other children!”

            “Life isn’t always fair.”

            “Fine, but will you please at least hold off on punishing the children until we get home? Let them enjoy the last day and let Cael ride the dragon too, please, I’m begging you.”

            “Alright, but no other treats of any kind for those five.”

            “Deal, but I have one more request.”

            “What is it Harry?”

            “It’s Victoire’s birthday before Cael gets off of his grounding. Let him go to her party.”

            “No, that would defeat the whole purpose of a grounding to let him go to a party. He will just have to live with the consequences.”

            “But we’re all going, so there won’t be anyone left to watch him.”

            “Then I’ll send him to one of my friend’s for the day; I’ll find someone who is willing to make sure he doesn’t have any fun, like Pansy.”

            “Pansy? Seriously?”

            “Yes. She has two children of her own and she knows how to discipline a naughty little boy. You seem to not understand the gravity of the situation Harry. Our children lied to you, snuck out with your invisibility cloak, and were climbing a fence in order to break into a dragon reserve, where they planned on riding on the back of a dragon. They would have been killed.”

            Draco had a point, so Harry caved. With that settled, they each went back to their own cabins. The three boys were already in bed asleep or pretending to be when Harry returned, Ron watching over them.

            “Dad went to tell Draco’s mum what happened. How’d Draco take it? Is he mad at you?” Ron asked.

            “He’s not happy with me, that’s for sure. He said no more dragon reserves, ever, and he probably won’t trust me with something like this again,” Harry admitted.

            Ron clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Give him time; it’ll blow over.”

            “I hope you’re right.”

            “I better get back to Hermione; night.”

            With that, Ron left. As soon as the door closed behind him, Teddy’s head poked up.

            “Harry? I’m sorry,” Teddy said.

            “I know you are little man, but you were the oldest and you didn’t act like it tonight. What you did was very dangerous and you all could’ve died,” Harry replied.

            “I didn’t get ya in twrouble with Draco, did I?” Teddy asked.

            “Yes, you did Teddy. He’s very upset with me.”

            “I’m sorry.”

            “I know you are. It’s late; you need to go to sleep.”

            Teddy lay back down and this time fell asleep. Harry had a hard time following after, tossing and turning with the events of that night running through his head.

            The third day was filled with more dragons. They had a picnic in the reserve with Charlie and he brought with him a tame dragon that was trained to let children ride her. Cael and Teddy were the first to jump at the chance to ride the creature, but Scorp, Lyra, Brax, and Cyg weren’t far behind. Draco let them, albeit grudgingly, since he had promised Harry to let the children have one last day of fun before their punishment starts. Victoire, Lucy, and Cassy were all initially scared of the dragon, but after being assured it was okay, climbed on board for a photo.

            Aries, however, didn’t want to ride the dragon. He wanted to hug it. He kept trying to approach its face, which was not recommended, even with the tamest dragons. The adults kept pulling him back into safety and Harry climbed on the back of the dragon with him, to show him how it was done. The dragon stayed all during lunch and Aries managed to sneak away when no one was paying attention to him. He toddled right up to the dragon, stretched up on his tip-toes, and kissed the green dragon on its cheek.

            “Look what Aries is doing!” Cael shouted and took off at top speed to join his favorite little brother, just as the dragon licked Aries on the cheek in return.

            Arthur grabbed Cael and stopped him before he could reach Aries and the dragon. Charlie, who had stayed right next to his dragon on the other side, pulled the toddler to him, before returning Aries back to a panicked Draco.

            “No kissing the dragon Aries,” Draco chastised sternly.

            “Da’on ‘iss Ries,” Aries replied proudly, pointing at his spittle cover check.

            “Yes it did, but next time the dragon is going to eat Aries,” Draco replied, pretending to munch down on his son’s scrawny arm.

            “No, Da’on _‘iss_ Ries. Da’on an’ bunny Ries’ fen’,” Aries replied.

            “Right…We’ll just have to keep this one away from the dragons, period,” Draco concluded.

            After that they had to return to the cabins. They had to repack their things now to catch their portkey home. Molly and Arthur, having already packed, stayed behind an hour more to catch up with their son, but Charlie couldn’t take more than that hour off before he was needed by the other dragon handlers once more.

            The children were sore to go, but couldn’t stop talking about the things and creatures they’d seen. Overall, the trip was a big hit and everyone was talking about Teddy’s eighth birthday for years and years to come.

            True to his word, Draco started with the punishments the next day, making the five guilty children miserable in return for their stunt. He was determined to discourage this sort of Gryffindor behavior before he ended up with a dead child. But he also took Harry’s earlier advice, about finding something to spend his extra child support money on.

            In the days following their return, Draco went to Borgin and Burkes and asked after some of the old Malfoy things. Borgin did in fact have a few things that were sold off from the Malfoy estate in the store; worthless things that no one wanted, including the award from Gellet Grindelwald to Abraxas Malfoy. There was also an old journal belonging to Septimus Malfoy and a large but common tome on dark magic taken from the Malfoy library, signed by the purchaser, Iona Malfoy. Draco bought the lot for three sickles and then took down the information on an auction from Borgin.

            The auction was for the estate of an old witch who had purchased what used to be the third floor sitting room furniture from Malfoy Manor. The sofa, settee, and armchairs from the room were ruined with awful stains, but they weren’t part of the original set anyway, having been replaced decades ago. The shelves, end tables, coffee table, tea table, and two chairs were the originals and were in good shape. The set was ancient, having been in the Malfoy family for hundreds of years. It was carved out of maple trees from the Manor grounds, stained a medium color, and the edges gilded, making the pieces sparkle. Each piece had snakes carved around the legs and poles and the Malfoy crest featured predominately on each. There were charms on all the pieces, protecting any valuables they might hold and self-dusting.

            Draco bought the set outright, minus the sofa, settee, and armchairs, paying the full asking price in order to ensure the entire set went to him. It was a nice set, so it cost him almost all of his child support money, but when he moved it back into the third floor sitting room, he was outrageously happy and pleased with it. It was lacking all of the trinkets, books, china, and crystal that used to adorn the shelves, but those things could be replaced in time. What was important was that the original Malfoy wand-carved furniture had been restored to its proper place.

            It was such a good find that Draco resolved to start keeping an eye out for auctions. He even put out the word that he was willing to buy anything Malfoy, so that people in a position to sell would come to him first. Hopefully in time he’d be able to restore more of the original furniture and trinkets to the Manor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next is Victoire’s birthday and the anniversary of the final battle. I think it will also be the perfect time to start building up the romantic relationship between Harry and Draco. Please Review!


	15. Chapter15

            In the days following their return from their spectacular trip to the dragon reserve, Draco’s behavior altered. He seemed to be avoiding Harry, even when they were in the same house. If Harry came into a room, Draco suddenly remembered he had to leave the room. When he did stay, he avoided making eye contact with Harry. Twice, when Harry asked him a direct question, he jumped, startled. The symptoms seemed to be worsening, having started with avoiding eye contact, progressing to leaving the room, and by the last day of April, he startled at every word out of Harry’s mouth. Otherwise he was his usual self, spending his time taking care of his children and working outside with his crops.

            Harry wanted to know what was wrong, so when Draco exclaimed that he’d forgotten to fix something upstairs and waddled off as fast as his six month pregnant body could take him, Harry decided to go after. Draco was amazingly fast for someone in his predicament, but then this was his ninth pregnancy and he was obviously used to it. Draco moved to shut the door behind him, but Harry caught it before it could close.

            “Draco, what’s wrong?” Harry asked, following Draco into the room.

            Draco sat down on his bed, looking down at what he could see of his lap and fidgeting.

            “Whatever it is, you can tell me. I want to help you and if I can’t help, then I’ll find someone who can. You could, you know, talk to a professional or somebody,” Harry continued.

            Draco took a deep breath of air, bucked up his courage and said, “I just need some time to myself. I never have any time for me with peace and quiet and nothing to do. Don’t take me the wrong way, I love my children, but I need a break.”

            “Yeah, that sounds like a brilliant idea. Your mum and I can watch the kids and you can go out. You could call one of your friends-” Harry started, but was cut off.

            “I want to be alone this time. Maybe next time I’ll call my friends.”

            Harry thought that was a normal enough request and he could certainly relate to wanting some time to himself. He’d only been a dad for a matter of months and he already found himself wanting more time alone. Peace and quiet was an unobtainable ideal that he couldn’t help long for. After eight years of being on constant child duty, Draco deserved a break. Harry only worried about Draco being alone because of the pregnancy. He’d prefer it if Draco had a friend keep him company.

            “Yes, alright, but will you do me one favor?” Harry asked.

            “That depends. What is it?”

            “Take Kreacher with you. I just worry about you being completely alone in your state. If something happens and you need help, Kreacher can either help you or fetch help for you.”

            “Or he can draw my bath and pamper me.”

            “That too.”

            “I’ll take him,” Draco conceded. “But where would I go?”

            “Grimmauld Place; it’s empty.”

            Ginny had gotten back together with her old flame, Michael Corner. She’d recently moved out of Grimmauld Place and in with Corner, leaving Grimmauld Place empty.

            Draco agreed to the arrangement. That night, Harry stayed in Draco’s room, to watch over Aries and Carina, while Draco went to Grimmauld Place. The evening routine involved more chores for Harry than usual, because both Draco and Kreacher were gone, but he managed. Draco came back in the morning and Harry went off to work.

            Harry hoped everything would be back to normal when he came home, but that wasn’t the case. He was a few minutes late, having gotten caught up at work filing some paperwork and found the family already in the dining room, eating supper. Draco’s plate was only half empty, but he jumped up and left the room as soon as Harry entered.

            “I’ll go after him,” Harry said, altering his course from his seat to the door to go after Draco.

            “No, you stay, I’ll go,” Narcissa said, wiping her face delicately, before rising.

            Harry objected, but Narcissa refused, so he stayed and she went. The children were only halfway through their meal, so he sat down to eat with them and supervise. Carina needed help with her spoon and while he was busy doing that, Aries upturned his bowl of spaghetti on his own head. The children roared with laughter at that and Harry snapped a photo, but then he set about cleaning it up.

            If there was anything wrong with any of the children, it was Aries. Draco and Narcissa both insisted that Aries was falling behind where the other children were at that age. At almost two, he should be able to feed himself and know to stay still while being dressed or having a nappy change. The fact that he didn’t, worried Narcissa. Draco wasn’t overly worried, citing the fact that the child had received fifty percent of his genetic make-up from Harry. If the child was overly Potter-ish and showed clear signs of Gryffindor behavior, then it couldn’t be helped.

            Harry resented the fact that Draco had used the names Potter and Gryffindor in a negative connotation, but he didn’t deny that Aries probably got his free spirit from his side of the family tree. Aries wasn’t all that different from other twenty-month-olds Harry had seen. In fact Aries did a lot of the same silly behaviors that Fred Weasley, George and Angelina’s son, did. Fred was a year and a half older, although he wasn’t about to compare his son to a Weasley in front of Draco. Harry thought that Aries was fine, but he still wasn’t about to leave the child with his supper all over him, especially when there was something wrong with Draco.

            Supper led to bath time, starting with Aries of course, to wash the red sauce out of his blond hair. While supervising Aries’ bath, Harry asked Cael if he’d been to the third floor yet today. When the child replied in the negative, Harry directed Cael up to the third floor for his daily hour with the portrait of Madam Loryn; the other children had all finally gotten off of punishment, but Cael had another two weeks. Cael trudged upstairs obediently, but Harry hated watching him go; he abhorred punishing the children.

            Carina and Cassy were next in the bath, which Harry handled on his own. Draco finally came out of his room and took charge of the baths and dressing with the rest of the children. Harry had just finished dressing Carina, Cassy had dressed herself, and Aries had escaped wearing nothing but his nappy and one inside-out sock.

            Harry was putting Carina on the floor with her toys and a protective enclosement charm around her and about to go after Aries, when Narcissa approached him and asked, “May I have a word with you Harry?”

            “Yeah, sure,” Harry replied, thinking that Aries could wait. He could tell that this was about Draco and that was more important.

            “Let’s go downstairs to talk,” Narcissa suggested and Harry agreed.

            Narcissa led Harry into the library off of the drawing room, shutting the door behind them for privacy. “I talked to Draco,” she began.

            “And, what’s wrong?” Harry asked.

            “How much do you know about the nature of the male pregnancy curse Draco suffers from?”

            Harry knew that it was an annual event and that once a year on Halloween night, a faceless figure whose body resembled Harry’s impregnated Draco. He also knew that Draco didn’t have a choice in the matter and he worried that Draco was being raped in his sleep every year by the curse. He relayed this to Narcissa.

            “There’s more to it than that. The figure doesn’t only visit him on Halloween night. Sometimes it’s like an invisible presence is with him, whispering supportive things into his ear. There is never any sex outside that one night, but there can be tender touches and occasional kisses at other times of the year. When it happens, it’s always at the end of the month, in line with the annual nature of the curse, with the half-year mark the strongest of all. Last night was exactly the half-year mark,” Narcissa revealed.

            “So what does that mean? What happened in his dream? Does he think I violated him last night?”

            “There is something else you need to know, Harry.”

            “What?” What else could there possibly be?

            “The first time the figure came to Draco was when he was six months pregnant with Scorpius, right before the end of the war. Before then he’d had a feeling that there was a spirit there with him, supporting him, whispering into his year, even a kiss to his cheek, but the first time he saw the faceless body was the day before you and your friends broke into Gringotts. After you escaped here with Draco’s wand, things became worse for us. The Dark Lord was losing the war, His grip on His followers, and His mind, but we didn’t know it yet. He was holding it all together, but only tenuously. It was a difficult time for Draco, because not only was our entire family on the wrong side of the war, but Draco was pregnant by Him; or at least we thought so at the time.

            “Draco was back at Hogwarts, pregnant, scared, and trying to hold it together when the figure visited him,” Narcissa continued. “It spoke to him. It told him that it was the father of the baby, not the Dark Lord. It said it wanted the baby and was happy he was pregnant. It said it would be there for him and protect him and the baby from what was to happen. It even said it loved him and the baby and warned him to keep his head down in the days to come. It was a surreal experience for him and he didn’t entirely listen to the warning, as you know, because he sent Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle after you to fetch his wand. But he did stay behind himself and he honestly couldn’t fathom you hurting him while he was pregnant.”

            “I wouldn’t. I would never have put him at risk. I tried my best to make sure he wasn’t hurt during our escape from here.” Of course Harry hadn’t known what was going on at the time he and his friends were brought to Malfoy Manor by the Snatchers, but it was obvious Draco was pregnant. He’d had to push Draco back as he took Draco’s wand from him in order to escape, but he’d steered clear of Draco’s belly and done so as softly as possible. He’d worried at first that he’d been too gentle and that Draco would grab him, but Draco had stumbled back instead, clutching his growing belly.

            “I know.”

            “Wait a second, if the figure told Draco it was the father, not Voldemort, why did Draco continue to think Voldemort was the father?”

            “Keep in mind Harry, that this is a faceless phantom Draco sees only in his dreams. It’s not real and didn’t visit him again until Caelum was conceived. By then Draco had completely forgotten all about it and was not in the mental state to connect the two. It wasn’t until Abraxas was conceived that he remembered and made the connection. But even then he didn’t know that It was not one in the same with the Dark Lord. Our lord was dead, but He had split his soul into so many pieces. We could only surmise that a piece had broken free, the best piece, and stayed with Draco to give him the children. It wasn’t the Dark Lord, but it came from Him. Does that make sense?”

            “Not entirely, but nothing does when it comes to Voldemort….” Harry trailed off in thought. “So what does that mean for Draco? What happened to him last night?”

            “It visited him again, the same as it has done with all of his pregnancies, except Caelum and Lyra… He stayed awake the whole night with Lyra, so it couldn’t come, but somehow he conceived just the same. And we can’t actually be sure it didn’t come with Caelum. Draco was in no state to be receptive to it, falsely thinking it was one of the Ministry guards who had raped him. It was only after all of those paternity tests on Caelum came back negative and after Abraxas was conceived by the same figure, that Draco remembered the visit during the war and realized It wasn’t evil. Just the same, he wasn’t cured and he was terrified of its return at first.”

            “And now? How does he feel about it now?” Harry was hopeful. Narcissa seemed to honestly believe that Draco had begun to heal. It was hard for Harry to see it, not having been present for the transition and not being close enough to know Draco’s inner thoughts the way Narcissa does.

            “Years ago I advised Draco to embrace the figure. There was no other father for these children and if it was being supportive and loving, then he should let it make him feel good. He needed someone to lean on, even if it was imaginary. He had no one else.”

            Harry wasn’t sure what that meant. “So…?” he prodded.

            “I can’t be sure, but I’m reasonably certain that sometime between when Lyra and Cassy were conceived, Draco made the transition from feeling violated on Halloween night, to enjoying it. I don’t know exactly what he dreamt last night, but he told me there was kissing and touching. He’s confused, because he enjoys it and he’s in this monogamist relationship with this non-existent entity, but it looks and acts like you and he’s not in that type of relationship with you.”

            This was a bit much for Harry to take in and process, so he fixated on what he could. “I thought Draco was straight.”

            “He was, before, but a lot has happened to him. He’s had female sexual parts and needs for so long now that I think it’s become part of him. He told me that he’s convinced the urges and desires will disappear the moment the curse ends, but I’m not so sure. He’s lived with it for a decade, not to mention the rape and what that did to him.”

            “Wouldn’t the rape drive him away from men?” Or would it drive Draco towards men, like Hermione thought? These days Hermione was spending her free time researching how to break the curse, but back when they’d first found out about Draco’s rape she had taken up an interest in psychology with rape victims. She had warned Harry that male abuse victims often felt a pull towards strong male figures who could protect them from their rapist. Rape couldn’t turn a man gay, but it could tip the scales for a man with the predisposition.

            “Logically it should and I think that it is why the logical part of Draco is resisting his feelings. I don’t understand why he feels the way he does, but I’ve decided to be supportive of his feelings.”

            “Yes, we have to support him, however he is feeling. Whoever he chooses to latch onto, even if it’s Pansy Parkinson, we have to support him. He needs to get over the rape and it doesn’t particularly matter who he chooses to do it with.”

            Harry had talked with a psychiatrist about Draco and the steps a rape victim needs to take in order to recover. He wished Draco was ready and willing to go to therapy, but since Draco wasn’t, he wanted to be prepared with the information he’d need to help Draco. He didn’t want to make a mistake and set Draco back on his road to recovery. The psychiatrist didn’t have much advice for Harry, other than to be supportive and encourage any sexual behavior Draco showed, even if it was directed towards someone he didn’t approve of. As long as it was directed at an adult, it was healthier than expressing no sexuality at all.

            “Even if it’s you?” Narcissa asked pointedly.

            “Me? It can’t be me. We talked about this, after the paper published that bloody article saying we were having sex. He said he wasn’t interested in me.”

            “He’s pushing you away, but I don’t think he could open up to anyone else. If it was someone else, he’d feel like he was cheating on the faceless figure.”

            “Oh.” Harry felt like he’d just been punched in the gut and didn’t know what else to say. It wasn’t that this news was good or bad, just that it was so shocking and unexpected.

            “Sometimes I think it’s like he’s married to the figure.”

            “Married?” Harry’s voice came out high and squeaky.

            “If you were in a relationship for nine years, even if it was imaginary, wouldn’t it be like a marriage to you?”

            “Either that or a long term girlfriend.” Harry was thinking of Ginny and the eight years he’d spent with her. He missed her sometimes, as a friend, but he felt guilty that he didn’t miss her more. When he was satisfying his needs with his hand, it wasn’t her he thought about.

            “Well, just keep that in mind when you speak to him. He might have trouble separating the two of you. What would you do if he kissed you in his confusion?”

            Harry needed a few minutes to think about that and Narcissa stayed silent, leaving him to it. In the end there was only one conclusion he could come to. “I’d kiss him back. He needs to know that his sexuality is okay. I’d have to accept him.”

            “What about you? What about your feelings? You can’t sacrifice your own love life to be a crutch for my son.”

            “No…but I think I’d want to do it. He’s pregnant with my son and has already given me eight beautiful children. He’s a good person and attractive. I don’t know how far a relationship between us would go…I don’t think he’d ever be able to go beyond kissing. Right now I’m not in a relationship with anyone, so I wouldn’t mind helping him recover.”

            “I beg your pardon, but are you gay, Harry?”

            “Bi, actually.”

            “Well then that changes things.”

            “How so?”

            “You might actually return his affections.”

            “Yes.”

            “Be gentle with him.” It sounded as though Narcissa was giving Harry permission to date her son.

            “I will,” Harry promised.

            Harry and Narcissa went back upstairs, to help Draco with the children. They went into their bedtime routine, reading stories and reminding the children to use the loo and brush their teeth. Then the children were split up into their respective rooms. Narcissa took Cassy and Lyra, tucking them in, before tucking Cael and Scorp in. Harry took Brax and Cyg, tucking them in and waiting there until they settled down and closed their eyes. Then Harry went into the nursery, to see how Draco was doing with the babies.

            Draco was lying back on his bed, his shirt off showing off his engorged stomach, with Carina cuddled in on one side and Aries on the other. Aries was still actively nursing, while Carina’s eyes were closed and the milk was dribbling out of her mouth as she suckled weakly. Draco startled when Harry entered and the movement jostled his nipple out of Carina’s mouth. The baby stirred, settling her head into the crook of Draco’s arm.

            “Here, let me help you with her,” Harry said, grabbing a burp cloth.

            Harry wiped the milk off of Carina’s face and chin. Normally he’d leave any mess on Draco’s body, for Draco to clean up himself, for fear of getting too close, but he didn’t do that this time. Instead he looked Draco in the eye and held eye contact as he gently wiped up Draco’s arm and breast, pausing only to cop a feel of Draco’s large baby belly, hoping to feel their unborn son kick. It was an intimate moment and Harry’s heart rate picked up in anticipation. Draco could freak out any moment now, but he didn’t. The only movements were of Draco’s chest, heaving as he breathed rapidly and the kick from baby Severus.

            “He’s kicking,” Harry said, smiling goofily.

            “He does that a lot.” Draco tried to shift into a more comfortable position, angling himself onto his side, the side Aries was on, but Carina was sleeping on his other side, so he couldn’t quite manage it.

            “I’ll put her in her crib,” Harry said, picking his baby daughter up, so that Draco could turn properly. She rested her sleepy head on his shoulder, cuddling in close in a way Harry found quite endearing. At eight months old, she was getting so big, crawling all over the place and pulling herself up to cruise along the walls and furniture. She would be walking soon and wouldn’t be the baby of the family for much longer. Harry was grateful for these moments while they lasted; he only wished he hadn’t missed them with the older children. He knew he should put her in her crib like he said, but he couldn’t help holding her for a little longer.

            “Harry, I know I said we’d go with you to the war memorial tomorrow, but I’m not feeling up to it. Plus this way I can stay home and watch Cael. Can you take the other children without me?”

            “It’s alright Draco, I’ve decided to skip the memorial this year. We’re only going to the Weasleys for Victoire’s birthday. Her party isn’t until Sunday, but they always have a family dinner on her actual birthday for her and to remember Fred’s death.” The anniversary of the final battle and Victoire’s birthday fell on a Tuesday this year. This dinner and the upcoming party would be the second time the Malfoy children would meet all of the Weasley grandchildren. Only the oldest two of the Weasley Grandchildren, Victoire and Lucy, had gone with them to Teddy’s birthday visit to the dragon reserve. They hadn’t seen the younger Weasley children and their parents since the Ministry Gala; Draco had weaseled out of that just like he was trying to weasel out of this.

            “The Weasleys? I don’t know if I can manage in this state. I swear Severus is aiming to come out the size of a baby elephant.”

            “No, the healer didn’t say there was anything wrong with him. He’s only a bit on the large side.” Carina turned her head to the other side, so Harry switched her to his other shoulder while he spoke.

            “So you will go without me?”

            “No Draco, I want you to come with me. The Weasleys will help your mother and me take care of the children and you can put your feet up and relax. Fleur is very pregnant, again, and you can hang out with her.”

            “Out of all of the Weasleys with children, Fleur sounds the least ghastly,” Draco conceded. He hadn’t actually met all of them, but he knew Fred’s wife Angelina from Hogwarts and Fleur from the Twiwizard Tournament. Percy’s wife he knew only from Harry’s stories of the horrible woman.

            Harry chose to ignore the insult and proceeded to use any foothold he could get. “Then that’s settled. You’ll go and meet the Weasleys.”

            “If I feel up to it and they really don’t expect me to watch over their brats. The children told me all about how poorly behaved they are.” Draco was still on his side, with Aries suckling slowly and pressed up against Draco’s swollen belly.

            “They aren’t that bad. They don’t have the discipline yours do, but they are sweet kids.”

            “You say that about all children.”

            “Well it’s mostly true.” Draco grunted and Harry decided it was time to change the subject. “Draco, can I talk to you about last night?”

            “What about it? The children were well behaved while I was away, I trust.”

            “They were great. I want to talk about you…and me.” Draco made a noise as if to protest, but Harry stopped him. “Your mother told me about the visits from the phantom me. I want you to know it’s okay.”

            “I beg your pardon?” Draco asked, pretending not to follow and wrapping his arms around Aries’ small body for emotional support.

            Harry gave Carina a soft kiss on the temple and then put her down in her crib, before clarifying. “Look, whatever you did with him, is fine with me. And if you feel that he is me and want to think that I did those things to you, then that’s fine too. I’d be willing to kiss you and caress you if you wanted me too. Whatever you need.”

            “You’d kiss me?” Draco’s eyes were wide and innocent.

            “Yes,” Harry replied, leaning in, careful to avoid Aries. He pressed a chaste kiss to Draco’s cheek, prepared to back off at any moment if he’d gone too far. When Draco didn’t push him away, he lowered his body onto the bed in front of Draco, with Aries and their unborn son cradled between them. He wrapped one hand under Draco’s neck and rested the other on Draco’s swollen belly. Part of him wished Aries wasn’t there, in the way, but the other part was grateful that his son was there, giving them a shared child to bond over and fixate on.

            Draco was staring at Aries, who had finally fallen asleep. Draco’s chest was exposed without a baby attached to it, which was an unusual occurrence. Either he was nursing or he was covered up, but now Harry had an unhindered view. Draco’s breasts were small, but distinctly there. They were covered in perfectly pale skin, with enlarged rose colored nipples. The nipple on the right side was elongated, from Aries’ recent suckling. Harry found them arousing and tried not to be too obvious about it, for fear of making Draco self-conscious.

            “Draco, I’ll kiss you any time you want. I love all of our children, including this one inside you. I love that you’ve given me the family I’ve always wanted. Whatever you want from me, I will give you, even physically. I think that other me only says what I would say myself if I were there. I just want to go at your pace. I won’t rush you, so that means you have to tell me what you want, when you want it,” Harry said, stroking Draco’s arm, creating goose bumps in his wake.

            Draco nodded and closed his eyes, clearly exhausted.

            “Here, I’ll put Aries in his crib,” Harry offered, rising and taking Aries with him.

            After Aries was down, Harry went to sleep upstairs in his own bed. He’d give Draco time to think on it.

            The next day was hectic, what with getting eight children ready for their outing; seven to go to the Weasleys and Cael going to Pansy’s. They didn’t have many excuses to wear their dress robes and clothes didn’t last long with children, so Draco insisted the children needed to wear them again. Harry didn’t think it was necessary and would’ve dressed the, in simple jeans and t-shirts, but if dress robes were important to Draco, dress robes he would do.

            Draco had the children halfway dressed in dress robes before he recalled all of the dresses the girls had been sent by Madam Shacklebolt. None of those dresses had been worn outside the house, so they had to wear them today. Only there were a lot of choices and both Lyra and Cassy had their own opinions on the matter, in addition to their father’s opinion. Draco wanted the beige dresses that match the green and cream the boys were wearing, while the girls wanted to wear the brightly colored ones, red for Lyra and pink for Cassy. Eventually they settled on the lilac dresses.

            Most of the boys were easier to manage and just had to be directed to their clothes, especially Cael, who was the only one wearing regular clothes. Aries was the lone exception. Aries tried to dress himself, but somehow managed to get his on upside down, with his legs in the sleeve holes. Harry managed to get the robes turned around, right-side up and Aries’ socks and shoes on, but then Draco objected to the shoes.

            “You can’t let the children out in public in muggle shoes!” Draco protested, pulling the shoes off of their youngest son. And it was so hard to get shoes on Aries in the first place.

            Draco hadn’t liked the Velcro shoes from the moment Harry brought them home from the store. It didn’t matter that they were the perfect shoes for their backwards toddler, because they meant that Aries wouldn’t be tripping over the laces he couldn’t tie. They even had the letter L on the left shoe and R on the right, to aid in learning to put your shoes on the correct feet. Aries, as their little backwards child, clearly needed the extra help if he was ever going to learn. But the shoes were ugly, white, non-symmetrical, and made by muggles, so Draco thought they were the epitome of a fashion faux pas.

            “Draco, it’s a children’s birthday dinner. He’s going to be running around. He can’t wear his shoes with the laces or he’ll trip,” Harry reasoned.

            “No, but he can wear the new ones with the buckles my mother picked up for him,” Draco said, pulling out a ghastly pair of black leather shoes that were made in a style that hadn’t been popular for centuries. He’d used some of his support money to acquire a few essentials for the children.

            Harry raised one eyebrow, as if to ask if Draco was serious. “Those are the ugliest shoes I’ve ever seen in my life.”

            “I had a pair of these when I was his age; every Malfoy does.”

            “Fine, he can wear the ugly shoes, but you have to put them back on him every time he wriggles out of them,” Harry compromised.

            Draco agreed and the crisis was narrowly averted.

            Next there was a minor crisis when Lyra wanted to bring her doll with her, but if they allowed one child to bring a toy, then they each had to be allowed to bring a toy. That meant seven toys for the parents to keep track of and that was too many.

            “Ly, there will be plenty to play with at the Weasley’s and if there isn’t, you can play tag,” Draco said sternly, ending that discussion.

            Lyra put the doll back, but wasn’t happy about it.

            Then Carina needed one last feed, because Draco didn’t want to breast feed in public, before they were finally ready to go. All of that and this wasn’t even the official birthday party; that wasn’t until Sunday. The official party was bound to be more hectic, because more children were invited and there was to be a jumper, fairy princess, face-painting, and everything else a six year old little girl could possibly want. Tonight was just the family dinner.

            Narcissa was there to help, so there were only eight children to split amongst three adults. Cael was sent off to Pansy Parkinson’s first, Pansy firecalling when he arrive to let them know he’d made it alright. Draco was so pregnant that it was hard for him to manage a baby with him in the floo, so he took Cassy instead and went through to the Weasleys. Harry took Aries and Cyg, Narcissa took Carina, Scorp took Lyra, and Brax went alone. They flooed into the already crowded Weasley living room, with a Weasley gathering in full swing.

            The living room was filled with red heads and Molly’s cooking. There were platters of biscuits, pasties, and pies on every surface. The only seat not filled with a Weasley was next to Fleur on the settee. Fleur was nine months pregnant with her third child and had her feet propped up on an ottoman stretched big enough for two. When she spotted Draco, she waved him over and called, “Draco, come over ‘ere. I ‘ave saved a seat for ‘oo.”

            Draco shuffled towards the loveseat still holding Cassy’s hand and eyeing the room to see who was there. Fleur happened to be surrounded only by women, with the men conveniently absent from that side of the room. It seemed as safe as he was going to get, even if it was next to a quarter veela.

            “And ‘oo do we ‘ave ‘ere? Why she looks about the same age az my Dominique,” Fleur said, pinching Cassy’s cheek.

            “I’m Cassy Malfoy,” Cassy introduced herself the way her new daddy always did. It was easier than saying the whole thing the way her father had always taught her.

            “What a cute leetle girl ‘oo are! Would ‘oo like to play with my daughter Dominique?” Fleur asked, pointing outside, where half a dozen children could be seen running around.

            By then Harry was through the floo with Aries and Cyg. He spotted Little Molly, Percy’s youngest daughter in an enclosement charm and headed in that direction with his sons. Little Molly was the same age as Aries and playing happily with some toys. She had the mousy brown hair of her mousy looking mother, but the general good looks of a Weasley, with none of Percy’s pretentiousness.

            When Harry placed Aries in the protected area with Molly, she quietly held out her doll to Aries. Aires took it happily and clutched it to his chest, before flinging it to the floor forgotten as he noticed the ball. He picked up the ball and bent over to roll it. The two toddlers played peacefully, rolling the ball back and forth to each other.

            Cassy came running over to Harry, so he picked her up and began scanning the room for where to deposit her and Cyg. Narcissa was just coming through the floo when Harry turned back to see Audrey Weasley, Percy’s mousy wife, approaching Draco with her hand out, as if to touch his baby bump. Draco was cringing away with a look of horror on his face.

            Harry knew he had to act fact, so he set Cassy back down next to Cyg and dashed across the room, yelling, “Noooo!!!” Audrey paused with her arm out in the air, just above Draco and Harry forced her back, putting himself between her and the father of his children. “Draco doesn’t like to be touched.”

            “Yes, we muztn’t be too touchee with Draco. He iz not used to ze touching,” Fleur added.

            “Audrey, why don’t you tell us how you made those adorable matching outfits for Molly and Lucy,” Angelina suggested, taking the focus off of Draco.

            Narcissa retrieved Cassy and Cyg and was taking them and Carina outside to play. Andy was already out there with Teddy and the rest of the Weasley children. Fred was the youngest, at the tender age of three, so his father George was there with him, watching him. Fred was around Cyg and Cassy’s age, so Narcissa led her grandchildren in his direction. Then she stood next to her sister with Carina, watching the children play.

            Fred had reddish brown hair, cappuccino colored skin, and a personality that seemed to be a mix between Aries and his namesake. Dominique, the next youngest, was four years old and had the looks of her father, with a bit of her mother’s allure. Her sister Victoire, was six today and had her mother’s blond hair and looks, with her father’s light blue eyes. Lucy, Percy’s oldest, fell right in between Victoire and Dominique in age. Lucy had her father’s vivid red hair, freckles, and horned rimmed glasses, along with her mother’s mousy facial features. It was already clear that Lucy’s little sister Molly had come out better in that gene pool.

            Scorp, Brax, and Lyra soon followed and were directed outside. They’d met the Weasley children once before at Teddy’s birthday party, so it wasn’t completely awkward. Scorp, Brax, and Lyra mostly played Dark Wizards and Aurors with Teddy, while Dominique, Lucy, and Victoire played house, including Fred, Cyg, and Cassy in their game.

            Harry stayed in the living room standing behind Draco’s chair, making sure his pregnant partner didn’t run into any more trouble with the Weasley women. Fleur and Angelina seemed to be on top of things, deliberately not touching Draco while including him in the conversation. Audrey had more trouble with it, tending to crowd in too close as she spoke and Harry had to keep motioning her away. He was more than relieved to see Hermione and Ron enter the room, because he didn’t think he could take any more of the female nattering.

            “Hermione, oi, over here,” Harry called, waving to his friend.

            “Yeah Hermione, it’s about time you joined the married women properly,” Angelina added.

            “Zoon ze and Ronald will be ‘aving children. If ‘oo ‘urry ‘Ermione, ‘oor babee can play with mine and Draco’s,” Fleur said, rubbing her own stomach.

            Hermione was blushing by the time she approached Harry and whispered in his ear. “Um, Harry, I’d rather not join you here.”

            “Oh no, Hermione, you can’t leave me here. This is the circle for adults. You are an adult, so you have to stay,” Harry reasoned.

            “Yes, you should’ve joined our circle of sister-in-laws two years ago when you married Ron,” Angelina added.

            Hermione and Ron had married two years ago, because they wanted to move in together. Before that Ron had still lived at home and Hermione had lived with Harry and Ginny at Grimmauld Place. The two were in love and when they finally saved up enough for a house, they decided it was time to make it official. Ron’s mother and sister-in-laws seemed to be of the opinion that marriage came with a child requirement, but Hermione disagreed.

            Hermione wanted to focus on her career and her goals of increasing legal rights for magical beings and creatures, especially house elves. She wanted children, but she was still young and wanted to wait. She and Ron had always planned on waiting until Harry and Ginny were ready for children to start their family, so that the cousins would be close enough in age to play together. Only they hadn’t known that Harry already had children and that they were already behind.

            “You know Hermione, you and Ron have better get a move on or your children are never going to be best friends with mine. You’re already too late for your first to be in the same year in Hogwarts as my youngest,” Harry teased.

            “Why do I have to sit with the women and bear this? Why don’t you pester Ron?” Hermione asked Harry through her teeth, trying to keep up a fake smile.

            “Because I need help with something,” Harry whispered, inclining his head in Draco’s direction, “and I don’t trust Ron to do it.”

            Hermione got the message and agreed to guard/watch Draco, freeing Harry to go outside and play with his children. It wasn’t long before Ginny and her boyfriend Michael Corner arrived just in time for dinner. There were so many of them that Arthur and Bill set up two long tables on the grass outside. When Molly announced that dinner would be ready in five minutes, Harry extricated Draco from the women and led him outside, to an unoccupied area of the lawn.

            Draco was cordial for the most part, but as soon as he was away from the group of women, he asked, “Why did you make me sit in that room with that _insipid_ _cow_?”

            “Which one?” Harry asked, unsure who Draco meant and trying not to jump to conclusions until he did.

            “The one who looks like a mouse.”

            “Oh Audrey, yeah, she’s Percy’s wife.” Harry let out a sigh of relief, because Audrey was the one wife he disliked.

            “What’s that have to do with it? She’s a bloody nightmare.”

            “Well Percy is a pretentious git, so he had to marry someone who was okay with that. Apparently an insipid cow was the best he could do.”

            “She has two children and has been through pregnancy twice; what is _so_ different about my pregnancy that she _has_ to touch me? Do you know how many times Hermione had to remind her to leave me alone after you left?” Draco asked incredulously. “I swear to Salazar she only behaved herself while you were there because you kept hovering over me and glaring at her. As soon as you were gone, she was right on me again.”

            “I guess she really likes babies.”

            “And she has the IQ of a mouse, to match the rest of her,” Draco added bitingly.

            “Well the rest of the women are alright, aren’t they?”

            “Fleur was alright. Angelina is nice enough, but she’s bloody awful at disciplining that brat of hers. Don’t let his cuteness fool you; I’m certain he’s feral. You shouldn’t let Cassy and Cyg play with him.”

            “Fred isn’t a werewolf; he’s just three.”

            “Riiiight. You say that now, but don’t invite him over for any sleepovers on the full moon. In fact, don’t invite that one over, full stop.”

            Harry rolled his eyes, but didn’t reply. It was enough for him that the father of his children had braved the Weasley den for him.

            Molly, Ron, and Percy came out of the kitchen levitating large dishes of food and setting it onto the table. The huge family gathered around, finding their seats. The children were all at one table, while the adults were at the other. Harry sat Draco on the end, with himself and Narcissa between Draco and the rest of the Weasleys. Before they ate, they all took a moment to remember Fred, Remus, Tonks, and all of the others who’d been lost on this day, adding in Vince for Draco. After the delicious meal, there was a small homemade cake and the happy birthday song for Victoire. It was the perfect way to commemorate the momentous day that had changed all of their lives. And this year, Harry had his children and the father of his children by his side for it. It made him very happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank chochowilliams, pansy potter, Witgirl, and RRW for reviewing the last chapter. Your response is invaluable and really helps make this story better!
> 
> In other news, one of my other stories is coming to an end, which means, I get to start posting a new story (I’m one of those people who hate having too many stories in progress at one time). My new story is drama, romance, and adventure; Draco/Harry slash with mpreg of course! It’ll have a war fought on a dragon reserve going on in the background, so there will be plenty of rampaging dragons and close calls, but it’s mostly about Draco and his dragon mysticism religion. Draco is keeping secrets and Auror Harry is determined to uncover them in order to save Draco, by evacuating him from the war-zone. It’s called Dragon Kissed and I just posted the first chapter!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains explicit material. As such, I have had to up the rating. If you are under the age of 17, please read the censored version of this chapter posted on fanfiction.
> 
> BTW, I have good news: the formatting has been fixed!

            It had been a very trying night. Cyg and Cassy had been feeling poor and whining all day, so it didn’t come as a total shock when he vomited all over his pajamas. She followed soon after and vomited all over the bed, being too young to know to run for the loo or try to catch it, so it went everywhere. If it weren’t for vanishing spells, scouring charms, and house elves, they would’ve been up all night cleaning. They’d hoped the other children weren’t ill too, but Brax had a tummy ache that turned into vomiting in the middle of the night.

            Harry learned that night that Draco still gave the older children breast milk on occasion, especially when they were sick. Cassy he let nurse straight from the source, since she wasn’t quite three. Brax and Cyg were given their breast milk in glasses thanks to a lactation charm that transferred the milk from Draco’s body into a pitcher. But, it was the first time Cyg hadn’t been allowed to nurse when he was sick and he was not at all happy about it, throwing his cup of milk at the wall. Apparently Draco was more lenient with the children when they were sick, because Cyg only got a scolding and handed another glass. Normally something like that would earn an hour on the third floor landing.

            On top of that, Carina was teething. She already had the first four teeth, but now she was getting two more on the top at the same time. She was moody and cried for an hour before falling asleep. It was a very bad night. It was so awful that Narcissa took Aries to sleep with her upstairs, so that the toddler wouldn’t be bothered by the commotion in the nursery. With all that drama, Harry slept on a bed he conjured in Draco’s room, so that he could be there to help.

            Harry woke up with a start some time later. He lay in his conjured bed, wondering what was wrong now. He thought it would be one of the children up sick again, but it was Draco moaning. He got up and walked the few steps over to Draco’s bed, thinking that Draco was sick now too. The moaning continued and though Draco was still asleep, he was very restless, tossing and turning. Harry decided that Draco was in the beginning stages of the illness, with the upset stomach. Draco had been up all night right along with Harry and was pregnant, meaning that he needed his sleep much more.

            Harry climbed into bed with Draco, pulling Draco into his arms, in an effort to comfort the father of his children. He stroked Draco’s forehead soothingly and was surprised to learn that Draco didn’t have a fever. Thinking that a stomach ache was how the illness started and was the cause of the discomfort, he rubbed soothing circles over Draco’s stomach. And since Draco was heavily pregnant and their unborn son right there, he couldn’t resist going a bit lower and messaging the baby bump.

            Severus kicked back in response, bringing a smile to Harry’s face. Draco too seemed to like it, his moans turning softer. But then the moans turned into whimpers and Draco began to push against Harry, working Harry’s leg in between his own and humping. Harry was taken aback by the unusual behavior from the usually asexual Draco, but he wasn’t about to cause Draco a setback by refusing to participate. Narcissa had warned him that Draco was fixated on him and he had made a promise to himself to be there for Draco and to help Draco recover, by doing whatever was needed. But, he didn’t want to do it while Draco was asleep, which would eliminate Draco’s freewill and violate him all over again.

            “Draco,” Harry whispered softly into Draco’s ear.

            “Hmmm?” Draco asked in reply, still grinding himself on Harry.

            “It’s me, Harry.”

            “Mmmm.”

            “Are you horny?”

            “Mmm-hmmm.”

            “Would you like me to help you with that?”

            The moan that issued forth from Draco’s lips in response was indescribably hot.

            “Then I need you to wake up sweetie. I need you to tell me what you want me to do.”

            “Inside,” Draco mumbled.

            “Draco.”

            “Hmmm?”

            “I need you to wake up.”

            “Why?”

            “Because nothing is going inside you while you’re asleep.”

            That got the attention of Draco’s sleep riddled brain. He opened his eyes and then sprang up in bed, staring at Harry with eyes wide open.

            “It’s okay Draco. We haven’t done anything and we’re not going to, unless you want to. I thought you were sick, so I came over to check on you. Then I realized you weren’t and decided it was best to wake you. If you want help with your problem, then I’m willing to help. Or you can take care of it yourself.”

            There was a long pause while the wheels turned inside Draco’s head. “I don’t know how.” His voice was hoarse with sleep.

            “I do.”

            “Will it hurt?”

            “No. It’ll feel very good.”

            “Alright.”

            “Let’s go to my room; I don’t want to do anything in the same room with the kids.”

            “What if they wake up?”

            “Cast that spell that wakes your mother when they need her,” Harry said.

            They’d all cast it whenever they left the room and someone else was supposed to be on baby duty. Harry’s version didn’t always work and often clung to the wrong person, but Draco was a dab hand at it and could cast it in his sleep. Draco cast it now and Harry led Draco up the stairs to his attic apartment on the fourth floor.

            The apartment was a large studio with sloping walls and dormers, due to the roof of the Manor. The stairs opened up in the middle of the attic floor, with the kitchenette and living room area on one side and the bedroom area on the other.      There was a lush lavatory in the middle of the room, near the stairs, creating a partition between the living area and the bedroom. There was also a ladder there that continued up to the much smaller second level of attic, which was still used for storage.

            The living area came complete with sofa, desk, and bookcase. Harry had filled the bookcase with his own books and the desk with papers from work, but mostly this side was little used. He always ate in the first floor dining room and tended to spend all of his free time on the lower floors with his children. The children rarely came up here and then only to fetch him down. Instead the living area had been used as a storage area and accumulated piles of clothing, gifts for the children, and various other items, although the kitchenette was occasionally used to make tea or other drinks.

            Behind the loo was the bedroom portion of the attic, where Harry led Draco now. On this side, there were three large dormers, letting moon and star-light in through the glass. The bottom half of the room was much wider than the top, because of the sloping walls, which made for a lot of room that was used for storage. Along one side there was a closet bar, for hanging clothes with a shelf above for shoes. Along the other side there were custom drawers; shallow drawers on the top, deep drawers on the bottom. On the narrow end there were shelves surrounding the duplicated bed; it was the same duplicate the children had slept on before Harry had bought them new beds. The bed had been pushed as far back against the sloping wall as possible when Harry had first moved in, but he kept hitting his head on the ceiling when he woke up. Thus he’d pulled the bed further into the center of the room, leaving a large empty gap behind the headboard.

Draco paused at the doorway, apprehensive.

            “Are you sure you want to do this?” Harry asked.

            Draco nodded and took one step forward. Harry grabbed his arm and said, “Come on, towards the bed.”

            They stopped when they reached the bed. Draco was speechless, not knowing what to say or do, so Harry took over, explaining each step and giving Draco a chance to refuse. “I’m going to take off your robes now. This is about making you feel good, so I’m leaving my clothes on.”

            “Sex?” Draco asked.

            “No, you’re not ready for that. I’m going to touch you with my fingers only.”

            Draco nodded, but didn’t move to remove his clothes, so Harry did it for him, pulling the night robes up over his head. Draco’s body was lean, muscled, and perfect underneath the ginormous rounded stomach and bosom. Draco’s cock hung limp between his closed legs and Harry assumed that was because he’d lost his erection in his nervousness. Draco’s arms moved to cover his breasts, even though he wasn’t at all self-conscious about them while breast feeding.

            “Do you still want this?” Harry asked. Draco nodded. “Are you ready?” Draco didn’t respond to that one and seemed to be having trouble deciding how to answer. “How about we take this real slowly and you stop me at any time. If I go too far or do something you’re not comfortable with, then just say no and I’ll stop.” Draco nodded. “I’m going to lay you down on the bed with me. We’re going to start with cuddling.”

            Again Draco nodded, so Harry gently guided their bodies onto the bed. Draco turned away from him, but didn’t pull away. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco’s body, pulling Draco closer, into a spooning position. Draco pulled his legs up as he lay on his side, until his legs hit his distended belly, his arse pushing back against Harry’s groin. The movement was enough to fully awaken Harry’s already stirring member. Harry was very interested, but determined not to take this too far too fast.

            Harry ran his hands all over Draco’s body, avoiding his private areas. He was trying to get Draco used to him, before doing anything more intimate, but what he seemed to be doing was driving Draco crazy with sexual frustration. Draco was squirming, arching his back, and generally moving all over, without pulling away from Harry’s lap. Draco was panting for breath and Harry could feel Draco’s heart racing under his skin.

            “Do you want me to kiss you?” Harry whispered into Draco’s ear.

            That produced a loud moan of agreement from Draco’s mouth. Harry propped himself up on his elbows and leaned over Draco’s face, before slowly descending, aiming for Draco’s lips. Draco’s lips were open and soft, his chest heaving frantically. Harry kissed Draco tenderly and while Draco didn’t protest or push him away, Draco also didn’t seem to know what to do, his tongue unmoving and his lips not returning the kiss. Draco either couldn’t remember how to kiss or was too locked in fear to. Whichever it was, Harry wasn’t going to force him.

            Harry rose up a bit, separating their lips and looking Draco in the eyes. He used one arm to support his weight and with the other hand, he caressed Draco’s face. “Draco?”

            “Hmmm?”

            “Are you horny?”

            “Mmm-hmmm.”

            “Show me where you want to be touched,” Harry requested, placing his hand inside one of Draco’s.

            Draco, still on his side, with his legs pulled up to his chest, led Harry’s hand down towards his bum and into a very wet fold sandwiched between his ballocks and arsehole. It hadn’t always been there, but had formed with the male pregnancy curse. It was the canal all eight of their children had used to make their way into this world. It was where Aescwine had raped him, but also where the phantom Harry had made love to him on Halloween night.

            Harry had assumed that with a man, he’d start with the penis, but when Draco led his hand to Draco’s vagina, he fell into more familiar territory and decided to run with it. He glided his fingers through the slick, viscous fluid, gently manipulating the folds of delicate skin. The center felt no different from Ginny’s, although the slit was bordered on the top and sides by bulbous protuberances. Harry tried to trace Draco’s ballocks up to the top, in hopes of locating Draco’s cock, but Draco’s legs were closed and in the way. He didn’t want to ask Draco to move, so instead he let his fingers drift back down, exploring the shape of Draco’s split ballocks. They started off as one joined structure at the top, but split to trace either side of the slit, at the bottom. The split structure stopped abruptly an inch or so before the slit ended, giving way to smooth, swollen lips. He slowly slid his finger along, until it was in the center of the slit again.

            “Do you want my finger inside you?” Harry asked.

            Draco nodded, so Harry slowly pushed one finger inside the very wet canal. It was a wide canal, much wider than Ginny’s, having gone through the births of eight children. But at the same time, it was closed, with flesh pushing down on Harry’s finger as if it wasn’t used to being open. Draco too was responding as if he wasn’t used to the intrusion, letting out a loud groan and kicking out his legs, then pulling them back. Draco flung his arms out, gripping the sheets and arching his back, before snapping his spine forward.

            “How does that feel?” Harry asked, holding his finger still, but all of the way in.

            “Intense.”

            “Move around all you want until you get used to it. Is this what my penis feels like?”

            “No…It’s…more…and…less,” Draco replied, each word coming in between heaving breaths.

            Draco began to rock on Harry’s finger, snapping his spine back and forth and rotating his hips. Finally it wasn’t enough and he requested, “Move,” his body going limp to allow Harry to take over.

            “Alright, but tell me if you want me to stop,” Harry said, moving his finger along Draco’s walls.

            The folds of Draco’s pussy were hot and velvety underneath the slick fluid. Harry guided his finger around the folds of skin, everywhere pressing into the velvety walls as he went. The canal was wide, with more skin than he was used to, but the process was the same. When he finished going over the loop twice, he pulled his finger out an inch and continued on more in line with where he thought Draco’s G-spot ought to be.

            “If a spot feels really good, then tell me. I’ll stop and spend more time there,” Harry said huskily. His own cock was rock hard in his robes with the stimulation and it was affecting his voice.

            Draco nodded and Harry carried on. And then when Harry reached the top, Draco let out a screech, his hands automatically flinging into the air, before dropping back down. “Did that feel good?” Harry asked. Again Draco nodded, so Harry set about exploring the region, pushing into the walls and measuring Draco’s reaction. Draco was breathing rapidly, but seemed to be frozen in place, unsure what to do. “You can move.”

            Draco moved, lowering his legs, and triggering an uncontrollable arm and leg spasm or two. Harry kept pressing into that one spot, stroking his fingers over the velvety skin as he pressed. And then Draco was screaming, his walls clenching Harry’s finger, and his vaginal fluids squirting out onto Harry’s hand.

            Afterwards Draco lay there with his eyes closed and his chest heaving, but his body still. Harry moved to lay down in back of Draco, pulling Draco’s body to his chest with his free hand. Harry kissed Draco’s neck, ear, shoulder, and anywhere else he could reach in the position.

            “How do you feel?” Harry asked after Draco seemed to have calmed down.

            “Sleepy.”

            The duplicated bed was large, so Draco had plenty of room to retreat, curling up into a ball to sleep sated for once.

            Harry leaned over to press one last kiss to Draco’s soft red lips, before getting up to vanish the mess. He helped Draco dress, before going into the loo to take care of his own problem. When he was done, he wrote Draco a note, and then went downstairs to check on his sick children in the nursery. He slept in the nursery that night, waking up at six am to feed Carina a bottle of Draco’s breast milk. Afterwards he lay down trying to get back to sleep, but couldn’t. He just kept thinking about Draco sleeping upstairs in his bed. What if Draco woke up alone and started freaking out over what they’d done? Harry needed to be there to reassure Draco.

            Before the sun rose, Harry made the climb back up the stairs to his attic room. He found Draco sleeping peacefully in his bed. It was a large bed, so he lay down on the other side and finally fell back to sleep. He was awoken a few hours later by a scream and the sudden movement of Draco frantically climbing off of the mattress. Harry was up instantly, going after Draco, who was lowering himself to the ground behind the headboard and wedging his body into the triangle created by the steeply sloping ceiling. Harry followed, kneeling down to fit; it was a tight squeeze and he wished he’d pulled the bed out even further.

            “Draco,” Harry called, grabbing hold of one of Draco’s hands. “Draco, listen to me.” Harry waited until Draco made eye contact before continuing. “What we did last night was perfectly normal. You are a gorgeous wizard with sexual needs and that is okay. I love you and want to help you learn to take care of those needs. You are having my baby and the least I can do in return is to make you feel good. That’s all we did last night: I helped you feel good. We didn’t have sex and I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

            “No,” Draco replied tentatively.

            “And it felt good, didn’t it?”

            “Yes.”

            “Do you want to do it again?” Harry asked and Draco’s eyes went wide with fear. “Not right now, silly. In general, the next time you are having those feelings, would it be alright if I helped you feel good? Just with my fingers and you don’t have to touch me.”

            Draco nodded.

            “Good, now come on, let’s get out of this wedge and stand up properly,” Harry suggested, scooting back out of the narrow opening and pulling Draco’s hand with him.

            Draco followed after Harry. When they were standing up straight, Harry pulled Draco into a hug and placed a chaste kiss to Draco’s cheek. “I love you. I want you to remember that.”

            “You do?”

            “Yes, I do.”

            “Why?”

            “Because you are amazing, hot, attractive, a good dresser, and a bloody brilliant father. You are carrying my son and have done an unbelievable job taking care of our first eight children without help from anyone other than your mother. I’m in awe of you for that and if I live forever I will still never be able to repay you. But it’s not just that; I love you for so many more reasons. You were a good person trapped in a bad situation during the war, but you came out of it without turning into one of the bad guys. You made it through the darkness and still managed to take care of our children and put your life back together. That is why I love you.”

            The love Harry felt for Draco was already more than he’d felt for Ginny. He was beginning to realize that his love of Ginny stemmed mostly from friendship and he’d had no right asking her to marry him when he hadn’t even known that there could be another type of love. But then the fact that he hadn’t known and had almost married someone without knowing, made him second guess himself now. He’d only reconnected with Draco half a year before; what if there was more to love that he still didn’t know about? Was there some greater love that came from building a relationship out of lust first, the way things were typically done? He didn’t know, which was one of the reasons he was happy to take things just as slowly as Draco needed them.

            Draco didn’t say anything, but Harry could see the tears running down his face before he buried his face in Harry’s shoulder. Harry let Draco cry and get it out, standing there with his arms around Draco. It was ten minutes before either of them moved and then it was only to sit down on the bed. The attic door was open and they could hear the sounds of the children two floors below getting up and starting their day.

            “Do you want to stay up here, Draco, and have some time alone to think? I can go and help your mum with the kids,” Harry suggested.

            “Yes.”

            “Okay, just come down and find me if you start thinking anything negative. What we did last night was beautiful and natural, right?”

            Draco nodded and Harry pressed one more kiss to Draco’s cheek, before pressing another to the mound that was their unborn son.

            “Don’t forget that we all love you,” Harry said, before going downstairs to start his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a long time since the rape; I think it’s time Draco begins to move on. This chapter is the start of that, although it will continue to be a slow process.  
> Up next is Cyg’s 4th birthday. In honor of all of the middle children out there, I think it’ll have to be totally epic!  
> Please Review!


	17. Chapter17

            It was the day of Cyg’s fourth birthday party. Cyg’s real birthday was last Thursday, but his party wasn’t until today, Sunday. Draco’s birthday was tomorrow, but he didn’t want a party, insisting that they spend the day focusing on his son instead. Tomorrow they’d have a small family dinner for Draco, but today was Cyg’s day.

            Harry was in the dining room, supervising breakfast when he looked over to Cassy, who was seated on his right, and noticed something strange about her milk: it was clear. It was cloudy and even a little yellowish when he held it up to the light, but not the opaque white he was used to.

            “Daddy, I’m drin’ing tha’,” Cassy complained.

            “There’s something wrong with it. No one drink their milk until I check it,” Harry said, before calling Wispy and asking where she’d gotten the milk from.

            Before Wispy could answer, Draco came into the room with Carina on his hip and provided the answer, “We don’t have a cow, Harry.”

            “Huh? If you don’t have a cow, you must buy it, right?” Harry asked confused.

            Draco shook his head. “We couldn’t afford to buy it before and the children never complained. Children need to drink a glass of milk a day; it helps support proper bone development.”

            “Draco, where are you getting the milk, if not from the store and not from a cow?”

            “The same place I get it for Carina and Aries,” Draco answered.

            And then it dawned on Harry that it was breast milk in Cassy’s glass. How had he not noticed that before? He certainly hadn’t drunk the milk at Malfoy Manor, having long ago given up the childish drink. He preferred pumpkin juice and now he was grateful he did, because it meant he hadn’t drunk any of Draco’s breast milk. “Right…So you are breast feeding two children, have a third in your womb, and are still providing six glasses of milk with breakfast? How?” Harry asked.

            “The lactation charm; I showed it to you before. It empties all of the milk in my breasts into a pitcher. I preform it before bed and when I wake up in the morning. Wispy takes it and serves it with breakfast,” Draco replied with a shrug.

            Harry had first seen the milk expression charm last month when the kids were sick and Draco had expressed milk for them. He’d thought it was a one off and hadn’t realized Draco was doing it twice every day.

            “Okay….Er, why is the milk all clear and yellowish? Is there something wrong with you?” Harry asked concerned.

            “Yes, I’m pregnant. In the later stages of pregnancy, breast milk turns back into colostrum. The children are used to it; it happens every year,” Draco replied.

            “Yes, er, sorry Cassy. You can have your milk back then,” Harry said, handing the glass of colostrum back to his daughter. “Draco, we can afford to start buying milk.”

            “We’ll have to soon, if I keep having children. If it weren’t for the milk expression charm, I wouldn’t be able to provide enough of the stuff now,” Draco replied.

            “But Father, I’ve had cow milk and it’s awful!” Cael protested.

            “Yes father, yours is ever so much better,” Scorp agreed.

            “The colostle type is good too,” Brax added, taking a swig and showing his resulting smile.

            The rest of the children nodded in agreement that there was nothing wrong with Draco’s milk. The consensus was that everything was fine the way it was, so Harry dropped it and moved on to what was really important: Cyg’s birthday party and getting everyone ready.

            Cyg was born almost two months premature, which meant he was the first of many Malfoy birthdays. Draco and Narcissa always just had their own birthday parties or birthday activities for the children, at home and by themselves, but Harry didn’t want to do that. The children were going to have real parties for once, with other children and fun activities. Harry had tried to plan it himself, but was in over his head and swamped at work to boot. He didn’t know what activities to plan for a four year old’s party, or where to have it, or anything. Thankfully, the Weasleys came to his rescue.

            Molly volunteered to take over the party planning when it came to food and have it at her place. George agreed to take over planning the events and decorations, provided he could test his latest invention. Ron and Hermione agreed to help with finding age appropriate guests to attend the party and send out invitations; all of the Weasleys grandchildren and the next generation of Weasley cousins were invited, along with all of their friends with young children, including Draco’s friends and relatives with kids.

            It was all set, Harry just needed to get the Malfoy children ready in swimsuits and there on time. After breakfast, he ushered the children upstairs to change into their new swimsuits. With eight children, he was tempted to buy gently used swimsuits, but because these were for Cyg’s party, be splurged on new ones for all of the kids, along with new matching shorts, shirts, sandals, and towels. Draco and Narcissa helped too and the older children were able to dress themselves, so they made short work of it with only one minor setback; Aries pooped in his swim-nappy right after they put it on him.

            They changed Aries into a fresh swim-nappy. Then they realized they’d misplaced the floaties for the three little ones who didn’t know how to swim and had to summon the missing items. Finally ready, they flooed over in pairs to the Burrow. The party decorations were set up, but the other guests had yet to arrive. There were only adult Weasleys running all over the place, Hermione, Angelina, and Ginny going back and forth with food and drink items for Molly, and Bill, Ron, Arthur, and Lee Jordan helping George with something quite large.

            “Oh, there iz our birthday boy!” Fleur exclaimed in her thick French accent, approaching with party hats in one hand and her infant son Louis in the other arm. Louis was a bald blue eyed two-weeks-old whose face was still red and puffed up like a newborn’s.

            “Fleur, good to see you and Baby Louis!” Harry exclaimed, giving her a hug with one arm and holding Carina with the other. “But shouldn’t you be at home resting?” Carina reached out her little hands to grab the baby, but Harry kept her back.

            “Nonsense ‘Arry,” Fleur replied.

            “Baby!” Carina shouted, pointing at Louis, squirming harder to reach her goal.

            “Draco! Did you hear that? Carina said her first word!” Harry exclaimed, turning back to look at Draco, who at seven months pregnant, had flopped down on the sofa.

            “That’s not the first; she’s been saying faa-faa for months now,” Draco replied. “But good job Carina.”

            “Faa-faa?” Fleur asked confused.

            “That’s what she calls Draco. She calls me Da-da; just started a month ago,” Harry clarified.

            “Ze iz veree intelleegent,” Fleur replied, smiling at the baby. “’Ow old iz ze now?”

            “Nine months,” Harry answered. Carina was born late and had the last of the birthdays of the bunch; too late, if you asked Harry. He would’ve gone to St. Mungo’s and induced labor if it were him ten months pregnant, but Draco hadn’t been able to afford that. Instead Draco had waited and Carina had eventually decided it was time to come out.

            “Pardon me, but where should the children wait?” Draco asked, holding Cassy’s hand; the child was pulling away from him, eager to get a proper look at their surroundings, as he sat. Narcissa had Aries and the rest of the children were paired up, holding hands.

            “Oh, ze children are all up ze stairs in ze playroom,” Fleur answered.

            Harry knew that Percy’s old bedroom had been converted into a playroom for the Weasley grandchildren, so he directed the children up the stairs. “Not you Draco, have a seat. Here, take Carina and I’ll take Cassy,” Harry said, switching children.

            Draco did as told for once, with only one request. “Don’t let the children near the feral one.”

            “Teddee iz _not_ a werewolf,” Fleur replied indignantly.

            “Never mind him Fleur, he doesn’t mean Teddy,” Harry said, heading up the stairs.

            Victoire, Dominique, and Fred were in the playroom, the girls shrieking as little Fred chased them. Narcissa and Harry added the eight Malfoy children to the mix, but since there were no other adults present, they stayed to supervise. It wasn’t long before Teddy arrived, having been sent upstairs by Andy, who had gone to help Molly.

            “Gran said to tellya Harry that Uncle George’s almo’ ready to get started so all the kids needta be in their swimsuits,” Teddy announced in one big breath.

            A grammar lesson from Narcissa followed, before the children were allowed to respond to Teddy’s announcement. She’d really turned into an old schoolmarm.

            Teddy was already wearing his swimsuit, as were the Malfoy kids, so that left just the three Weasleys grandkids. Victoire knew right where their things were. Narcissa took the girls into the guest bedroom to change, while Harry changed Fred right there. Then they took the group of children downstairs and out onto the lawn.

            “Whoa!” Cyg exclaimed, his eyes lighting up when he saw the water park that George had made for him. The rest of the children shared his sentiment.

            It started off with an instant slide and crater terrain kit George had developed, which was overlaid with an odor-free portable swamp, and topped off by a mini-twister to get the water flowing. The effect was a set of water slides and a wading pool for the littler kids.

            Cyg and everyone who knew how to swim were led off by George and Ron to form lines for the waterslides. That left just Dominique, Fred, and Cassy, who were fitted with floaties and then led off towards the slides. Aries and Carina were too little to go on the slides, so they were fitted with floaties and taken to the wading pool.

            The other Weasley grandchildren arrived with their parents, adding Lucy and Molly into the mix. They played for an hour or so, before Molly announced a typical party lunch of hotdogs, crisps, punch, and nothing at all which Draco or Narcissa considered nutritious.

            After lunch, the rest of the guests started arriving, turning it into a real party swarming with people. The children played for hours until their muscles cramped and ached, their tummies were empty, their throats raw from screaming, and their fingers and toes all wrinkled up. It was a hot June day, so the cool water was very refreshing and the water park a hit. But eventually the children were made to climb out, dry off, and eat dinner and cake.

            Presents came after the cake. When four year old Cygnus was led over to the table full of presents, his smile fell away. His face was filled with disappointment as he took in all of the gifts in their shinny wrappings.

            “Cyg, my little man, what’s wrong?” Harry asked.

            “Nothing Daddy, this is great,” Cyg said, not sounding great. He sounded more like he was about to cry.

            “Cygnus Vincent Malfoy, why do you look so sad?” Draco asked in a voice that demanded the truth.

            “Sorry Father, but I thought this party was gonna be just for me, not all of us,” Cyg answered.

            “It is just for you Cyg. We only sang happy birthday to you, not any of the other kids. What gave you that idea?” Harry asked.

            “Because there are presents for everyone here,” Cyg replied.

            “No, all of these presents are for you Cyg. Look, to Cygnus, for Cyg,” Harry read name tags, lifting up gifts.

            “All these gifts _can’t_ be for me. There are too many!” Cyg exclaimed.

            “How many are there Cyg? Why don’t you count,” Draco suggested.

            Cyg wasn’t due to start preschool until the fall, but he already knew how to count to ten. With his presents, he surpassed ten and had to get help from his guests to count all of them. The pile was so large that it was bound to transform his side of his shared room from empty to crowded. As the first of Harry’s children to have a birthday, he was definitely reaping the rewards.

            Once Cyg accepted that the enormous pile really was all for him, he got to work opening them. He was entertaining to watch, because he was so excited about everything and clearly appreciated all of his gifts, even the books from Hermione and the socks and y-fronts from Andy. He was excited about having new things that he’d had before, such as a handball, a new set of building blocks, and a coloring book with crayons. And he was even more thrilled to receive all sorts of things he’d never had before, such as chocolate frogs, gobstones, Bertie Botts every flavor beans, a magical squirt gun, a Weasley Wizards’ kite, and various summer toys.

            Cyg seemed particularly fascinated by the snitch from Ginny, even though he was too little for a child’s broom. That was topped only by the butterfly net from Arthur, because he’d really gotten Cyg into collecting bugs.

            “Wow! I always wanted one of these!” Cyg exclaimed, pulling a Weasley sweater from Molly out of a bag. Even though it was not sweater weather in the least, he was chilled from the evaporation of water and slipped it on right there, before opening the next package.

            There were gifts from Draco’s friends and relatives too, the favorite of which was a yellow and purple magical stuffed dragon. After the recent trip to the dragon reserve, dragons were very popular amongst the children. The giant pressed blue morpho butterfly from the Notts was also a hit with Cyg, who insisted it was going on the shelf of his headboard. The expensive robes from the Goyles were less appreciated, as was the weird dynamic between the newly divorced Greg and Pansy, who both insisted on attending with their two children. Blaise Zabini, who came without a child, since he was a childless bachelor, gave clothes that were more appreciated, because they were more practical and new. The bag contained a pair each of trousers, blue jeans, and shorts, as well as half a dozen t-shirts, which were perfect for Cyg’s love of the outdoors.

            Many of the older relatives sent gifts, but didn’t come themselves. The sheets from Mrs. Crabbe were less exciting, but given Cyg’s bedwetting, appreciated. Madam Lestrange didn’t come herself, but she sent a magical pencil box in honor of the fact that Cyg was starting school this coming fall. The box opened only when the secret password was spoken. Inside the box was a never ending eraser, a magical pencil sharpener, sticking charm stickers, and pencils decorated with colorful pictures of insects. From the Mulcibers there was a toy wand that was charmed to light up when the word lumos was spoken. From the Rosiers there was a little goblin bank, filled with fake galleons, sickles, and knuts for Cyg to practice counting.

            And then the pile was decimated, with only one bag left. “Another dragon! Yay!” Cyg exclaimed, pulling out and hugging the stuffed animated magical dragon. The dragon breathed harmless fire in return and roared. This was the second one he’d gotten, this one black and blue, but the other one was different and they were designed to play together if you had more than one.

“Who’s it from Daddy?” he held out the tag for Harry to read.

            “The Flints; Marcus, his wife Kaelah, and their daughter Ursula,” Harry replied, pointing out where the Flint family stood. Ursula was tall, the same height as Teddy and Cael, and big for seven, resembling the bear constellation she was named after. She had her father’s black hair, grey eyes, and large teeth and had clearly been nicely groomed to compensate for her lack of natural beauty. If she wasn’t so ugly, she almost resembled the black haired, grey eyed Lyra. Despite her looks, she was a nice girl who’d integrated herself into the group of Weasley girls and encouraged Lyra to do so as well, despite Lyra’s natural inclination to stick by her brothers.

            “Thank you Ursula. This is great,” Cyg said to the older girl, giving the dragon another hug, before turning to Draco. “I didn’t think I could get through all those presents, but I did Father!”

            “Not quite, there’s still my present to go. It’s from your father, grandmother, and me,” Harry said, handing over a large envelope.

            “Um, Harry, my mother and I have our own presents for Cyg. Cygnus, that one is just from Daddy. Your gifts from Grandmother Narcissa and I are at home, the way we always do it,” Draco said.

            “Okay Father,” Cyg said, tearing open the envelope and pulling out a post-card with a picture of a trampoline on it.

            “Brax, why don’t you help your little brother read that,” Harry suggested.

            “No, I want Cael to do it. Brax is a great reader; Cael needs more practice,” Draco interrupted.

            Harry thought that as the older brother, Cael should be the better reader, but he wasn’t the one home with the children, so he didn’t know.

            “Alright Father; Cyg?” Cael asked, holding his hand out for the post-card. Cyg handed it over and Cael read it out loud. “Dear Cygnus, I hop you have a great bir-birth-day. Your tra-tram-po-line is in the tag room at home- it was too big to wrap. Sorry for putting f-fu-nnn-ni-ture in your tag room, but it is too big for your room. Love Daddy.”

            “What’s that mean?” Cyg asked confused.

            “It means that there is a big giant trampoline in our tag room!” Brax exclaimed.

            “Do I get this trampoline?” Cyg asked, taking the postcard back from Cael and pointing at the picture.

            “Yes, it’s just like that one on the card,” Harry replied.

            “Yay!!! Cyg exclaimed happily. “We get to play jumping!”

            “We are going to jump and play,” Draco corrected.

            Harry, who was supposed to be holding Aries while they did the presents, looked around for his toddler. He’d set Aries down early on, to help move the large gift bag full of clothes for Cyg and had assumed Aries was still at his feet. Only now that he was looking, Aries was gone. “Draco, have you seen Aries?” Harry asked.

            “Yes, I left my precious little boy with his _daddy_ ,” Draco replied pointedly.

            Harry then admitted that he’d lost one of their children and the alarm was sounded. The adults went off in search of the twenty-one month old toddler who couldn’t swim and was no longer wearing his floaties. They checked the waterslides first, desperately hoping that Aries hadn’t gone off and drowned by himself.

            Harry thought the worst had happened, but Draco had a special bond with his son and felt a pull towards the house. Draco was still carrying Carina and with the added weight, in addition to his pregnancy, he couldn’t go very fast, but he went as fast as he could waddle.

            Draco heard the sound of piano music as he approached. They were just children’s songs, Hot Crossed Buns and Mary Hand a Little Elf, but the piano was properly tuned and the songs were played correctly. It wasn’t particularly impressive for an adult player; Draco himself had played these songs on the piano when he was a boy. They’d had a piano of their own in the Manor back then. His playing was nothing compared to the graceful elegance of his mother’s playing; it was a shame they didn’t have a piano anymore and couldn’t hear Narcissa play.

            Then Draco made it through the door, Carina still on his hip, and saw Aries sitting there at the piano with Ginny Weasley. Aries tapped out the last line of Mary Had a Little Elf and Ginny broke out in applause.

            “Very good Aries!” Ginny exclaimed.

            “Was that Aries playing?” Draco asked.

            “Yes, I found him in here banging away on the keys and taught him a few notes. He picked it up so quickly that I was amazed. I’ve already taught him two songs,” Ginny answered.

            Draco sat Carina down and cast a quick enclosure charm around her. Then he kneeled in front of his youngest son, which was a difficult feat at this stage in his pregnancy. “Father is sooo proud of you my Aries! You are brilliant, yes you are. We’re going to have to tell Daddy that you need a piano for your birthday,” he said with the goofy smile of a proud parent.

            “Yay!” Aries exclaimed, before turning back to the keys and tapping out a scale.

            Fleur came in then, with every intention of lying down with her newborn son, but once she realized Aries had been found, she called in the troops.

            “Draco? Has Aries been in here all this time?” Harry asked, one of the last to be called in, because he’d been out desperately searching the surrounding forest.

            “Yes. Your friend Ginny has taught him to play the piano. It turns out he’s not a Gryffindor after all; he’s a musical genius,” Draco proclaimed proudly.

            “Your son is amazing Harry. Play the elf one,” Ginny prompted Aries, ignoring the dig on Gryffindor.

            Aries played it beautifully and everyone cheered. Draco informed Harry of the need for a piano in the house again and Harry agreed. The other children groaned, because they thought it meant the end of their tag room, especially since Cyg’s trampoline had already been set up in the drawing room, waiting for them to return. But Draco informed them that the piano would be going in the library, which led to cheers all around. This year’s school lessons would be more rounded with the addition of a piano.

            Harry thanked Ginny profusely for finding his son and for teaching Aries how to play the piano. Ginny insisted that it was nothing and that Aries had practically taught himself.

            It was getting late, so George ended the party with a short fireworks display. Draco and Narcissa took the Malfoy children home, finally giving Cyg a chance to jump on his trampoline. Harry stayed behind and gathered up the presents and thanked the guests as they departed. He helped with the cleanup, before apparating the presents back to Malfoy Manor.

            Later, just before bedtime, Narcissa showed Cyg the new school desk she’d gotten him, complete with school supplies fit for a preschooler. The desk was merely a duplicate of the others, but she’d purchased the school supplies specifically for him. All of Cyg’s workbooks, pencils, and crayons were marked with a white swan, in honor of the constellation he was named after. All of the children’s things were marked, so that they didn’t mix them up. Scorp had scorpions, Cael had chisels, Brax had flying horses, Lyra had harps, and now Cyg had swans. Of course Cyg preferred the insect pencils from Madam Lestrange, but he thanked his grandmother profusely just the same.

            Finally Draco gave Cyg the gift bag he’d put together filled with brand new underpants, a new school uniform, and a real live peacock egg. And most valuable of all was a child’s silver bracelet with the Malfoy crest on one side and Cyg’s full name on the other. Draco had had a bracelet like this one since as far back as he could remember, only upgrading to his Malfoy signet ring when his father gave it to him for his eleventh birthday. It had always perturbed him that he couldn’t afford to give any of his children a piece of jewelry with the Malfoy crest, so now that he had a bit of money, they were all getting one for their birthdays.

            When it came to the underpants, Draco hadn’t known Andy also had the same idea and it wouldn’t hurt Cyg to have more. Harry and Ginny had given Cyg plenty of underpants for Christmas, but they were now getting tight, because he’d grown, and showed signs of the child’s frequent accidents. Draco was hoping that by buying new Y-fronts with Cyg’s favorite bugs picture on the front that his son would be more concerned about ruining them and therefor more careful.

            As for the school clothes, they’d never had money to buy proper ones before and had always dressed the children in hand-me-downs, but this year was going to be different. This year each child would receive one brand-new school uniform to wear. With the addition of two new pupils in Cyg and Teddy, it would make their school seem more official. Andy had asked her sister before to homeschool Teddy, but Narcissa had refused, because they were hiding the other children. Now that everything was out in the open, Andy had asked again and this time Narcissa had agreed.

            Cyg cast the clothes aside, not even noticing the bugs on the y-fronts, in favor of picking up the large egg.

            “It’s a decoy egg,” Draco explained. “Do you remember them from last year?”

            Giving the children peacock eggs for their birthdays was a well-loved Malfoy tradition that had started when Scorp was a toddler. The Ministry had come by and confiscated all of the peacocks they could catch after the war, but missed a few. Peacock numbers were small for many years, but Draco, Narcissa, and the children had looked after the birds, helping the numbers grow. Many of the birds currently roaming the lawn were birthday gifts that had been set free.

            Not all of the peachicks survived though. They didn’t have many sources of meat and invariably ended up eating as many of the peacocks. They didn’t tell the children that, preferring to let them think they were eating chicken and not Featherbottom. This new one, however, wouldn’t get eaten now that Harry was there taking care of them. Harry didn’t like eating peacock and insisted on chicken.

            “Yes. It’s a baby chick inside!” Cyg exclaimed.

            “Yes, Cyg, it’s a peachick. The mother peacock lays eggs she doesn’t want before she lays the ones she’s going to keep. This little guy will die if you don’t take care of him.”

            “I’ll take care of him real good, Father,” Cyg insisted.

            “Really well, Cyg,” Draco corrected. “I bought all of those clothes special for you. They are all brand-new, never worn before, not even once. I want you to take extra special care of them.”

            “I will. I’mma big boy now; I’m not gonna have any more accidents, I prombiss.”

            Draco corrected the speech and then put his son to bed.

 

* * *

 

 

            It was an amazing day. Harry lay in bed that night thinking that the party had been everything he’d ever wanted his birthday to be as a child. He would make sure all of his children got parties that were just as wonderful. His kids really would have everything he never had, even if there were ten of them. He’d been a dad for just six months and had already turned their lives around. No longer were they living in poverty; now they had everything they could ever want.

            Harry had made sure to buy Cyg just the thing his son wanted most, having taken Cyg on a trip to the toy store, just the two of them, to find out what that was. Brax’s birthday was next and he was reasonably certain that his son wanted a broom. After that was Cassy and then Lyra, which would be harder. What did little girls dream about getting for their birthday? He would have to ask them in the morning.

            Harry fell asleep with that question on his mind. The next day was Monday, so he had to hurry off to work. After work was Draco’s birthday dinner and gifts; he was extremely grateful to Harry for the gift elf. It seemed Harry had chosen a gift that Draco hadn’t even realized how much he wanted until he had a new one. Hermione wouldn’t be pleased, but the Malfoys were used to having lots of elves and the family really did need another one. Maybe now Draco could put his swollen feet up and relax, instead of spending so much time doing chores. Both Kreacher and the Malfoy elf, Wispy, were old and couldn’t keep up with the growing family, but Harry hoped that Pippy, being a young and highly skilled elf, would be able to lighten Draco’s load considerably.

            Draco set to testing out his new elf right away, relaxing on the sofa, his hand absentmindedly rubbing his large belly, as he watched the elf clean up after the children. Meanwhile, Harry was downstairs supervising the older children when he finally got a chance to find out what his daughters wanted for their birthdays. He pulled them aside to ask.

            “I wanna pony with wings!” Cassy exclaimed.

            “That’s a tall order Cassy. I’ll talk to your father and see what I can do,” Harry replied. “What about you Lyra?”

            “There’s only one thing I want,” Lyra said.

            “What’s that? Hmm?” Harry prodded.

            “I want my grandfather Lucius. I miss him,” Lyra answered.

            Lyra’s answer tore at Harry’s heart and he was suddenly reminded of the agreement he’d made with Lyra’s grandfather: Lucius’ release in exchange for an heir and passing on the Potter name. Now he had one more reason for getting the release arranged.

            “I wanna see Gran’father too!” Cassy added.

            Make that two more reasons.

            “I love him ever so much,” Lyra added, looking up at Harry with gleaming grey eyes.

            How could Harry ever deny his little princess anything? He couldn’t; he was going to have to start putting in motion his plan to have Lucius’ sentence commuted to house arrest. He’d already put in his request to change the location of Lucius’ upcoming visit with his family. Harry didn’t want Draco traipsing all of the way to Azkaban to see Lucius, so Lucius was going to be moved to Auror headquarters for the day. Instead of the typical rushed visit in which all ten Malfoys were crammed into the same one hour timeslot, Lucius would be there all day and able to meet with each of the children separately.

            Once Lucius was proved to have behaved well, Harry would start calling for more frequent visits and a day in court to re-evaluate the convicted Death Eater’s potential danger to society. If Lucius had Harry on his side and continued to spout his remorse and proclaim a desire to help people and make up for his crimes, then the right judge would grant Harry’s request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With so many children all conceived on the same day, the summer really is birthday season at Malfoy Manor, especially because Draco and Harry’s birthdays fall in the middle. And since Baby Severus was conceived on Halloween night, he could be born anytime now. Once he’s born, it’ll be time for Hermione to show up with her anti-ritual to break the curse so that Severus is the last baby. The only problem is that I’m blanking on what the anti-ritual should entail. Any ideas? It has to be complex and involve both parents, but that’s literally all I’ve got. Please Review! Your feedback is critical in the brainstorming process.


	18. Chapter 18

            “Daddy, do we hafta go? It’s sooo _boring_ ,” Cassy complained.

            “Yeah Daddy, we don’t wanna go to electoqution class,” Cyg seconded.

            “And we already know our table manners better than you,” Cael added.

            “It is _interrably_ boring,” Brax agreed.

            “I think I’d rather shake hands with a muggle and I’m allergic,” Scorp insisted. One of the Malfoy portraits in the drawing room had told him that all Malfoys were allergic to muggles.

            “You can’t be aller’ic to muggles Scorp, but I agree,” Teddy said.

            “I like it; they teach us how to speak and act like princesses.” Lyra was the lone dissenter. She lacked natural grace, but she was picking it up slowly and wanted to learn more. Before she’d always been hopelessly behind her little sister Cassy when it came to girly things, but due to her intelligence and eagerness to learn, she was finally doing well in a prissy subject. Plus, her speech was among the best, so she was often praised.

            “No way! Princesseses aren’t all awful!” Cassy retorted. She had the most natural grace, but she was always getting in trouble with the teacher for her speech. She wanted to be a princess, but she refused to believe she needed to put in hard work to do so.

            They were holding hands in pairs and walking through the wizarding building where the Table Manners and Eloquence for Young Pureblood Witches and Wizards class was held. Harry was to take his oldest six children and Teddy every Saturday morning to these classes as part of a compromise he had struck with Draco. Draco had originally wanted all of the Weasley grandchildren to go too, but Harry had talked him down to just the seven kids.

            It all had to do with birthdays that were happening in droves around this time of year, thanks to the fact that all of their children had been conceived on the same day of the year; Halloween. Harry wanted each child to have his or her own birthday party, but they were all too busy to arrange it. Fortunately, Molly Weasley had come to their rescue and offered to plan and host first Cyg’s and then all eight parties. It wasn’t a big deal for Molly, because she had so much experience throwing birthday parties with her own seven children and numerous grandchildren.

            There was only one problem with having Molly Weasley throw the birthday parties and socializing with the Weasleys in general: the Weasley effect. Having birthday parties at the Burrow meant that the Weasley grandkids were invited, exposing the Malfoy children to the low class, tactless, ineloquent Weasley children. Plus Harry and Little Molly, Percy’s youngest daughter, also had summer birthdays scheduled at the Burrow, further increasing the contact. Casual contact once a week could lead to friendships and the poor manners rubbing off on their children. Thus Draco was opposed to regular contact and the need for the compromise.

            If the Malfoy children attended this class on proper manners every Saturday, then it would counteract the Weasley effect occurring every Sunday afternoon at that week’s birthday party. And Harry had to grudgingly admit that there was indeed a Weasley effect, because although the Malfoy children had only attended six events so far with the Weasley children—the Ministry Gala, the Weasley family’s war memorial, and the birthday parties of Teddy, Victoire, Cyg, and Brax—they were already picking up the bad habits of the Weasleys.

            Cyg had tried to eat dinner with his feet, grasping a roll in between the toes, incurring Draco’s wrath over the antics. Harry had never seen Draco so mad and he’d been about to step in to rescue his son. Then he realized that all that lecturing and yelling was leading up to nothing more than a five minute timeout; four minutes for his age and an extra minute for the egregiousness of the behavior. That timeout was hard to watch, because Harry knew exactly where the behavior had been picked up.

            Anyone and everyone who has ever seen Fred Weasley eat without his shoes on will tell you that eating with his feet was his signature move. He could hold a roll with his left foot and use a fork with the two biggest toes on his right. George got a kick out of it, finding it hilarious. Angelina thought the three and a half year old was too young to discipline and her only attempt to control the situation was to put shoes on him during meal times. Fred was incredibly adept at kicking off his shoes, so that had limited success.

            The normally perfectly mannered Lyra had been caught biting her manicured fingernails. Lyra had received a timeout for her actions, as well as being made to fix it herself with a muggle nail file. Draco and Narcissa were both refusing to bother casting the manicure spell on Lyra as their idea of a long term repercussion, saying that Lyra could keep on filing her nails herself. Lyra was the tomboy type and wasn’t particularly good about keep her nails filed and was often scolded for it. Harry felt sorry for her and had taken to watching out for the state of her nails, so that he could cast the spell himself before Draco or Narcissa noticed.

            It was common knowledge that the Weasley girls bit their nails. Fleur was always chastising Victoire and Dominique about it. Lucy, Percy’s oldest daughter, had nails that were bitten down to the quick and occasionally bled. Percy and his wife were oblivious to the situation and when someone pointed out that Lucy was bleeding again, they’d stick a plaster on it and shrug.

            Harry thought Draco was too strict with the children. He didn’t think it was a big deal if their speech wasn’t perfect, they showed mild signs of disrespect, or had the bad habit or two. He tried to talk to Draco about it a few times now. He thought they should be less strict in their parenting style, while Draco thought they should be stricter. Harry hadn’t been around the kids all this time and Draco had. While Harry’s lackadaisical style worked with only one Teddy, it would never fly with eight or more. In the end, they’d agreed that Draco would continue to be the disciplinarian, while Harry could be the fun parent. Draco was still so happy to have a second parent for his children that he didn’t resent Harry for being the fun one, although Harry worried he would in time.

            “Who wants to go to Cassy’s third birthday party tomorrow at the Burrow?” Harry asked.

            “Me!” Cassy exclaimed immediately.

            Cyg and Lyra rapidly agreed as well, followed by Brax.

            “Is this a trap?” Cael asked.

            “It’s definitely a trap,” Scorp replied. “If we agreed, then we have to go to this horrible class; it’s Father’s rule.”

            “My point exactly Scorp. If the lot of you want to go to the party, you have to go to class. Now I’m going too and I’m by far the oldest student in the class; you don’t hear me complaining do you?” Harry asked.

            “No,” Lyra replied.

            “And you know Madam Pince picks on me the most,” Harry said.

            “That’s just because you have the worst manners Daddy,” Lyra said reassuringly.

            Harry wasn’t at all reassured by it, but it was the thought that counts and Lyra was a sweet girl.

            “You know, if you kids don’t take me to class, Father might kick me out for slurping my soup, putting my elbows on the table, or eating with the wrong fork. And how many timeouts did I have last week for saying got?” Harry asked, taking a new tactic.

            Harry had mostly been living at the Manor with Draco, Narcissa, and his children in the attic apartment. Grimmauld Place was empty, so he no longer enjoyed being there; Ginny had moved out to live with her boyfriend. Kreacher too was not at Grimmauld Place any longer, since he was now stationed full time at Malfoy Manor, where he was needed more.

            “Oh no! Daddy’s hobeless; he’ll be in big trouble,” Cassy said.

            “We have to go!” Brax said. “To keep Daddy.”

            “Father won’t kick Daddy out; Daddy pays the bills,” Scorp said reassuringly.

            “But the Prophet said that Daddy is s’pposed to pay our bills, because we’re his children! If he’s kicked out and cuts off the gall-ons, the Prophet will make a specter out of him,” Cael reasoned.

            “A spectacle Cael,” Harry corrected. He had to get better at correcting the children, or they would continue the poor speech in his presence and Draco would continue to insist upon eloquence lessons. “And who says that I care about what the Prophet says? I can assure you I don’t.”

            “You promised you wouldn’t brandon us again, Daddy,” Lyra said, sounding betrayed.

            “The word is _a-_ bandon Ly and I won’t. But even if I still give Father the money, he won’t keep letting me over if I’ve got terrible manners.”

            “Don’t go; we want you around!” Cyg exclaimed.

            “Yeah, stay Daddy, please!” Cassy begged.

            “Yes Daddy, you’re so cool. You make everything fun when you’re around,” Brax added.

            “I won’t leave if I can help it,” Harry reassured. “Scorp and Cael, both of your birthdays are coming up soon; don’t you want your own birthday parties at the Burrow? Think about the cake, ice cream, swamp-n-slide, and all of the presents.”

            George was still responsible for setting up the entertainment, just as he’d done for Cyg’s birthday, hence the swamp-n-slide. Each week he improved the design and made the parties a blast. And all that time in the water had the added bonus that Cassy was learning to swim.

            “I did get a broom for my seventh birthday and that was _really_ cool,” Teddy said, throwing Harry a bone.

            “I’m turning seven! Do you think I’ll get a broom?” Cael asked hopefully.

            “I got one for my sixth birthday last week,” Brax said.

            “Father did tell Daddy to get us all the same; we’re probably all getting brooms,” Scorp said, sounding hopeful and eager for the first time.

            “Cyg didn’t get a broom; I got him the trampoline he asked for instead. But you know, Scorp and Cael, if you _don’t_ want the presents I already bought for you while I was buying Brax’s broom, then I could always save them and give them to Cyg and Cassy when they’re older,” Harry said. Lyra was also getting a broom, because he hadn’t managed to free Lucius yet.

            Cassy’s request of a flying pony had proved much easier. Malfoy Manor included stables built for abraxans and their elf Wispy already knew how to care for them, because the Malfoys had owned the creatures in the past. Draco had readily agreed to have a specimen of the graceful creatures around once more. Harry was worried about the danger of getting her an actual abraxan, but luckily the babies couldn’t fly for the first two years, because the wings had to grow a great deal in order to be able to support the weight. Until then an abraxan was just like any other pony.

            “Daddy’s gonna give me your broom!” Cyg exclaimed excitedly.

            “No, we’ll go, won’t we Scorp? I want my broom,” Cael said forcefully.

            “Fine, but only because I want my broom too,” Scorp agreed.

            “Then that’s settled; let’s go inside before Madam Pince marks us tardy,” Harry said. “Hold hands and walk forward.”

            Teddy, Scorp, and Cael took Lyra, Cyg, and Brax’s hands, while Harry took Cassy’s and then they were once again off to class.

            The children were correct, in that classes were exceedingly dull. Madam Pince was related to the librarian at Hogwarts and had the same strict demeanor. Her lectures on how to eat and speak properly were on a level with Professor Binns’ history of magic classes. Harry tried to pay attention, both to set a good example for his children, and because he knew this was important to Draco. But invariably Harry’s mind would wander and he’d find himself trying to solve a case at work or recalling a humorous moment with the children. Then Madam Pince would slap her yard stick down hard on Harry’s desk and he’d have to catch himself before he pulled his wand and cast a shield charm out of instinct.

            The children were all doing much better in the lessons than Harry was. Scorp, Cael, Brax, and Lyra were at the top of the class, while Cyg and especially Teddy struggled with it all. Cassy was in the middle, trying to float along with no effort but natural talent. But it was a private lesson with just the eight of them, so they each got plenty of one-on-one instruction time and the proper way to do things was slowly seeping in. Just last night Harry had used the correct spoon to eat his soup and hadn’t been left awkwardly eating his pudding with the soup spoon. Draco had been impressed.

            Draco’s opinion really mattered to Harry these days and Harry found himself with a warm and fuzzy feeling when he had gotten a bit of the table manners right. And even more importantly, it meant that he could spend almost every Sunday over at the Burrow celebrating one of his children’s birthday. The swamp-n-slide was such a fun thing to do with the children that Harry was asking for one for his own birthday party, which was also to be held at the Burrow, between Scorp and Cael’s birthday parties.             Draco, at eight months pregnant, didn’t get to enjoy in the fun water-themed activities, but Harry was certain Draco enjoyed watching the children have such a good time.

            Draco was due back for another prenatal visit at St. Mungo’s, but was refusing to go, again. He always made an excuse, saying he was too busy with one thing or the other. Draco did have a lot to do, with the field of crops being in full swing, the eight children, and preparing the nursery for their ninth child. The gifts for the baby were still trickling in on occasion, but they had already been given almost everything they could need. It seemed that this baby, unlike the previous eight, would have everything brand new. It was a bit ironic that now that they were planning on ending the cycle of pregnancies, they would suddenly be given so much baby stuff.

            Hermione had long since worked out the ideal reverse male pregnancy ritual to end the cycle. It had required Draco giving up memories of when Voldemort preformed the ritual, so that Hermione could make sure every last detail was accounted for and ensure that their counter ritual would work properly. She insisted they needed an item that had belonged to Voldemort to burn, so Harry had taken the older kids out on a trip with Hagrid to search the Hogwarts forest looking for the Peverell ring that Voldemort had turned into a Horcrux. Lyra was the one who found it and it was now locked away safely and heavily warded back at Grimmauld Place. But all that was done and now they were just waiting on Draco to deliver little Severus, so that the anti-ritual could be performed safely. There would be no more Potter/Malfoy love children for the Prophet to write about after Severus.

            Whack! Harry was startled out of his thoughts by a yard stick being slammed down onto his hands. “Ow!” he cried, pulling his hands back to his chest and examining his throbbing fingers.

            “Would you care to join us Auror Potter?” Madam Pince asked in a manner Professor Snape would have been proud of.

            The children snickered.

            “Yeah, sorry.”

            “It’s _yes_ , not yeaaah.”

            “Yes, sorry.

            “I asked if you did your homework,” Madam Pince said.

            Harry had not in fact had time. Draco read all of the children that week’s reading assignment in the evenings, after dinner. But Harry hadn’t been home that night, working late on a case. Draco had gone over it a second time last night, but Harry had had to dash out in the middle, receiving an owl with an important lead.

            “No madam.”

            “I want one hundred lines from you. You will write, “Being Harry Potter is no excuse for behaving like a barbarian. I will do my homework.”

            “Yes madam.”

            “Now, is there anyone here who did do their homework?” Madam Pince asked.

            Lyra’s hand shot up first, but all of the other children’s hands went up as well.

            “Excellent. Cassy, can you tell me who we should offer to hold the door open for?”

            “Me, ‘cause Imma lady. Gennlemen hold door for ladies and old peo’le,” Cassy answered.

            “Now who can correct Cassy’s answer?” Madam Pince asked.

            Brax raised his hand and was allowed to answer, with the grammatically correct and properly pronounced version of what Cassy had said. Then, being the know-it-all of the family, he added that even little girls should hold the door open for younger children, such as Aries and for disabled people.

            Harry worried that Cassy would respond by sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry, but luckily she didn’t. Cassy had copied the behavior from Fred Weasley last week, but thankfully Draco and Narcissa hadn’t been within range of sight at the time. Harry hoped they never would see it. Maybe he really should talk to Angelina about putting Fred in these boring classes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to thank LunaOscura, diddleymaz, RRW, shaku1347, and LilMxPlagueRat for reviewing the last chapter! Thanks to your wonderful feedback, I now have a handle on the anti-ritual :D But if anyone has any more ideas, feel free to shot them my way!   
> Please Review!


	19. Chapter19

            After Cassy’s birthday came Lyra’s and although Harry managed to get a real live abraxan for Cassy, he wasn’t able to bring Lucius home from prison for Lyra. He knew Lyra was disappointed to have the same waterpark themed party and broomstick that all of the older children got, but there was simply no way he could bust a man out of Azkaban for a birthday party. Instead he arranged for the family’s biannual visit with their patriarch to occur the Monday after her birthday, since she was one of only two of their children whose birthdays fell on a Sunday that year.

            Harry took that Monday off to escort his family to the Ministry, where Lucius had been moved to for the day. Traipsing through the Ministry with eight children and a very pregnant Draco with only Narcissa to help sounded like a media storm waiting to happen, which was why Harry arranged with his boss to use the Aurors’ restricted floo, depositing them straight into the Auror department. Ron and Isobel Macdougall were there waiting to help escort them over to the interrogation room, where Lucius was waiting.

            Before they could go in, Harry, Draco, and Narcissa had to surrender their wands and submit to a search of their persons and a pat down. Draco started to panic when he was searched and it was likely only the fact that it was Isobel doing it that prevent a full-blown panic attack; she was the guard who had been nice to him and taken care of him and Scorpius back when they were in the Ministry Holding Cells after the war. But then it was over and Harry enveloped a shaking Draco into his arms, while the children were searched. The children at least weren’t subject to the pat down, only having to pass the magical search.

            A handful of innocuous items were removed from the children’s pockets, despite Harry’s, Draco’s, and Narcissa’s warnings all morning not to bring anything. And then the family was cleared to proceed into the interrogation room, while their escorts went back to the main floor. Lucius was in the largest of the interrogation rooms, which was bursting over capacity once Harry and all ten Malfoys, plus two guards were squeezed inside.

            “Oi, Martin, Heath, didn’t you receive my paperwork? I requested that Lucius’ hands be free the entire time and Covington himself signed it. Release him,” Harry ordered.

            “Yeah, but we can’t have him free with so many people in the room,” Heath replied, while Martin waved his wand to comply, freeing Lucius’ wrists from the cuffs.

            “Which is why his ankles are to be bound until I split them into smaller groups,” Harry retorted.

            “Come here,” Lucius said, ignoring the guards and reaching out to scoop up his nearest grandchild, which happened to be Lyra.

            “I missed you ever so much grandfather,” Lyra said, before leaning in to Lucius’ chest and hugging him tightly. Because she was the most family orientated of the children, she missed him more than the others.

            “I missed you too my sweet little lady,” Lucius replied pressing a kiss to Lyra’s braided black hair.

            “Alright Ly, now let everyone have a turn to greet him; I’ve scheduled you for the first timeslot,” Harry said, urging Cyg forward to greet Lucius.

            Lyra slid off of Lucius’ lap and he helped Cyg climb up. “Did you catch that flitter beetle you were searching for yet?” Lucius asked, hugging his middle grandson tightly.

            “Yes, but Daddy said I couldn’t bring it to show you.” Then Cyg leaned up to Lucius’ ear and whispered, “I tried to sneak it in my pocket, but the guards took it.”

            Standard security practices dictated that visitors were not allowed to bring anything into the interrogation room with a prisoner, besides their own persons. In truth, visitors weren’t even supposed to be in the interrogation rooms, unless it was thought that an outside presence was needed to aid in the interrogation. It was only Harry’s special clout as the Savior of the Wizarding World and as an Auror, as well as his friendship with the Head Auror that allowed him to arrange for this meeting to be held at the Ministry, instead of Azkaban.

            “You should listen to your Dad, Cygnus. But maybe he can ask the guards for it back before you leave,” Lucius replied.

            The rest of the greetings proceeded in a similar fashion, with Lucius hugging each child and saying a few words. Draco’s hug was more difficult to coordinate, given that he was an adult and couldn’t easily be pulled onto Lucius lap. Plus Draco was nine months pregnant, making it difficult for him to bend down and maneuver his way into his father’s arms, but still he was determined and he managed, his large belly pressing down between the two grown men as they hugged. Lastly there was a kiss for Narcissa.

            Once the greetings were finished, Lyra and Draco were left alone with Lucius and his two guards; Harry reminding the guards that Lucius’ ankle cuffs were to be removed as he left. Then Harry escorted Narcissa and the other children to his office. It was a small office that he shared with Ron, but it was still a sign of prestige among the Aurors, because the lower level Aurors only had small cubicles on the main floor.

            Ron was there drinking a mug of tea, but he jumped up immediately from his chair and gestured towards Harry’s desk, where there were two additional steaming mugs of tea. “I, er, grabbed you some tea, Harry,” Ron offered, before holding his arms open to receive hugs from the children.

            Cael, Scorp, and Cyg were all big fans of Uncle Ron the Auror and rushed into his arms. The other children liked Ron too, since he was fairly good with kids. Harry was certain that it wouldn’t be long now before Ron had a few of his own. Hermione wasn’t quite ready, tying up loose ends with her work, making sure to train her future replacement so that the house elves wouldn’t go without a champion in her absence, but the two of them had already decided that it was time.

            “Thanks Ron. Narcissa?” Harry asked, holding out the first cup of tea to Draco’s mother.

            Narcissa, Carina in her arms, took the tea with thanks, freeing up Harry’s hands to pick up his own tea. Harry had just enough time to stir in his cream and sugar before Aries got into his filing cabinet.

            As Harry was repairing a crinkled file, his old partner and the current Head Auror Bourke Covington popped in to say hello. For the children he had small packages of crayons and pages to color, which were kept around the office for cases that involved child witnesses or victims.

            After forty-five minutes, Lyra’s turn was over and Carina’s turn began, with Narcissa supervising. Each Malfoy, except Carina, had forty-five minutes alone with Lucius, with only two guards and either Draco or Narcissa to supervise the children. Carina only received twenty minutes, because she was a baby and couldn’t talk much yet. Narcissa was to supervise most of the morning visits, because she wouldn’t be around in the afternoon. She knew it would be hard on young children to wait around an office all day, which was why she scheduled the youngest three for morning visits and planned on taking them home for naps after lunch.

            All day there were Aurors popping their heads in to say hello, many of whom had little treats, such as sweets and toys, for the kids to help keep them occupied while they waited. Harry had taken the children to that Ministry gala, brought Cael into work once, and invited his coworkers with children to the children’s birthday parties, but for the most part, his coworkers hadn’t had much of a chance to meet the kids, so the curiosity was expected and the distraction was appreciated. Ron helped keep the children busy too, taking them two at a time for a tour of the Auror department. Once all of the children had gone, Ron began a new round of tours taking them over to the Magical Law Enforcement Department, which Arthur Weasley ran.

            There was a break in the schedule for a forty minute lunch when the entire group was allowed in to eat with Lucius; Lucius’ ankle cuffs being reattached due to the number of people in the room. After lunch the meetings with the older children continued, Narcissa and the younger children flooing home. Isobel stopped by then to take Lyra and Brax over to see the Ministry library.

            They were there most of the day visiting Lucius, Harry having scheduled the inmate for four times as long a visit as he was usually granted. Before the entire family had had to share one two hour block of time, so they were all grateful for the luxury of individual meetings. Therefore the older kids were far more patient than Harry had expected they’d be. It was only the youngest three who fussed, whined, and cried, since they weren’t quite old enough to appreciate the change. It was a good job Narcissa had expected as much and took them home.

            Harry was expecting to have to wait until the end to have his fifteen minutes to speak to Lucius, but he wasn’t expecting Lucius to ask to speak to him and Draco together. Scorp, who had the previous time slot, was old enough that he could find his way around the Auror department, especially after spending the day running around it. Thus they sent him back by himself to meet up with Ron and the other children.

            Once Harry, Draco, Lucius, and the ever present guards were alone in the interrogation room, Lucius motioned Draco over and said, “Come here my strong Dragon. I am so proud of you.”

            Draco was closing the distance between himself and his father even before Lucius finished speaking. Lucius was once again free to move around the room, but he chose to remain seated and Harry was surprised to see Draco copy the children and climb onto Lucius’ lap. Not only was Draco a grown man just as tall as his father, he was also more than twice Lucius’ width, due to the pregnancy. Lucius, for his part, was not a frail old man, but he was thinner and clearly suffering the effects of years of Azkaban. Thus it was hard for Harry to believe Draco could still sit on his father’s lap, but that is exactly what happened.

            Draco bowed his head, leaning it on his father’s shoulder for support. Lucius wrapped his arms around Draco, resting his chin on top of Draco’s head. The two were silent for several minutes, before Lucius spoke again, his voice soft but proud. “Draco, I have told you this before, but it is true now just as much as ever: you are ten times the man I ever was. I _wish_ I had been as good a wizard as you. The way you manage to raise such fine heirs amazes me. They are all wonderful children and I love them, you, and your mother with all my heart.”

            Harry felt a bit out of place witnessing this personal moment between father and son. He considered stepping out of the room, before recalling that Lucius had specifically asked him to be here.

            “Thank you Father.” Draco’s voice was tight, as if he was holding back tears, and he let out a gasp that bordered on a sob on the last word.

            Harry thought that Lucius might reprimand Draco for showing weakness, but instead Lucius just kissed Draco’s head and patted his back comfortingly. Harry raised a questioning eyebrow, to which Lucius replied, “We must show our strength to the outside world, but to family we are free to share our emotions.”

            Harry nodded in understanding, realizing then that even from behind bars, Lucius was managing to be the steel backbone of the Malfoy family, keeping the family strong, even through trying times. Draco was the one actually doing the work of taking care of the family, but he’d been so severely broken by his ordeal in Ministry custody that he needed Lucius to lean on, to prop him up, so that he could keep going. And somehow with only two face to face meetings per year and regular letters, Lucius managed to know and provide just what Draco needed. From behind bars, Lucius had seen his family go from the few, rich, and proud, to the many, poor, and loving, and instead of resisting or shunning his grandchildren, he’d adapted and embraced this new reality. It truly was a tremendous adjustment to undergo for any prisoner, and Harry was especially impressed given the haughty pureblood he knew Lucius to have been.

            “Now Draco, there is something I wanted to talk to you and Auror Potter about; there is a reason I asked him to join us,” Lucius said after a minute.

            “Yes Father?” Draco asked hesitantly, appearing more like a scared little boy than the man he now was.

            “If I am not mistaken, Draco, you have feelings for Auror Potter.” Draco’s eyes were wide with fear, thinking that he was in trouble, as his father spoke. “I want you both to know that I think he is a fine choice. If you want him, then you should pursue your feelings. After all, you are a Malfoy and Malfoys always get what we what. You deserve the best, my son, and if you feel Auror Potter here is the best choice for you, then you should be with him.”

            Harry hadn’t been expecting that in the least. During their previous meeting Lucius had said he was okay with Harry being his grandchildren’s father, but that was a far cry from wanted Harry to date his only son. And although their meeting had been civil, Harry didn’t really think they had gone on all that well. Harry had the feeling that Lucius was doing this for Draco and was secretly less pleased with the budding relationship than he let on.

            There was a moment of silence before Draco gulped and asked, “You mean it? You honestly don’t have a problem with him?”

            “Yes, I mean it and no, I don’t have a problem with him,” Lucius confirmed. “But it matters little how I feel about him. How do _you_ feel my Dragon?”

            Draco ducked his head, acknowledging that he did indeed have feelings for Harry.

            “Well then son, you know what you have to do, do you not?” Lucius asked. Draco looked at Lucius with innocent wide eyes, signaling that he didn’t know. Thus Lucius continued by answering his own question. “You need to let your feelings be known to him. If you wish to court him or for him to court you, you need to discuss that with him. Be assertive and tell him how you feel and what you want. If he’s the wizard I think he is, he will be smart enough to realize what a catch you are and return your feelings. You are a great wizard Draco and any witch or wizard would be extremely lucky to have you.”

            Obviously, Lucius had spoken to Narcissa and was aware of the fact that Harry returned Draco’s feelings. That the wizard managed to be up-to-date and in the know about their personal lives from prison was rather remarkable to Harry. And seeing the loving and caring way Lucius interacted with his family today, made Harry actually _want_ Lucius to be part of their everyday lives. Before he’d been planning on getting Lucius released for the sake of his children and having an heir to pass on his name to, but it was more than that now. Now Harry could imagine Lucius returning to the Manor and slotting into the Malfoy family perfectly, helping with the children and more importantly, helping Draco to come out of his shell, encouraging Draco’s emotional recovery. It would probably make recovery easier on Draco if he had both of his parents there to emotionally support him.

            Draco looked to Harry then, as if to ask if what his father said was really true; did Harry truly want him. After all that he’d been through, he had trouble believing that anyone could still want him. Not even Harry’s previous assertion of his feelings that one time they had been intimate was enough to make Draco believe.

            “Yes Draco, I’d like the chance to be with you. I told you before than I would be here for you; whatever you need, I’ll give it to you. We can move however slowly or quickly you’d like. All you have to do is tell me,” Harry confirmed. Draco nodded, indicating that he did wish to be in a relationship with the other father of his children.

            Harry thought that having a title for their relationship might encourage Draco to move a little faster romantically. Therefore Harry decided to take the lead and asked Draco to be his boyfriend. Draco’s lips turned up in a gigantic smile then and he shifted from Lucius lap to Harry’s arms. Draco tended to turn to Harry for protection from other people, but it was odd for him to make physical contact without a nearby threat, putting more weight on the gesture.

            Harry hugged Draco back and placed a chaste kiss on Draco’s cheek. And then the unthinkable happened and Draco leaned into Harry and placed an extremely chaste peck on Harry’s closed lips. Harry wasn’t expecting it, at all, and by the time he realized what was happening and moved to return the kiss, it was over. Not to be outdone, Harry quickly placed an equally quick kiss on Draco’s lips.

            Harry wasn’t opposed to dating, but he wasn’t entirely sure what the next step with Draco was. He said as much and Lucius took on the role of mediator, forcing Draco to have the conversation that needed to be had. Lucius was easy on Draco, discussing what a relationship typically entailed and explaining all of the options, so that Draco need only nod or shake his head to indicate what he wanted and was comfortable with. Harry didn’t know whether Draco was too embarrassed or overwhelmed, but either way, Draco was not at all good at verbalizing his desires. There was a discussion then between the three of them regarding just what sort of relationship their relationship should comprise. After this meeting, they both had a much better idea of what to expect as they moved forward.

            Lucius thought that one of the most important factors in a relationship was monogamy; it was the one thing he insisted on. Despite Harry’s feeling that Lucius had no right to insist upon anything, he didn’t have a problem agreeing to a monogamous relationship. Harry hadn’t seen anyone since Ginny, so that wasn’t a problem for him. Draco wasn’t ready for sex and struggled with intimacy and Harry wanted him to go at his own pace, so there would be no requirement for either. They did agree that hugging and hand holding were both doable and desirable. Thus there were no major changes, but they still ended with a sense of moving forward and a hope for their future.

            After the discussion, Lucius asked Harry to leave so that he could spend the rest of Draco’s visit alone with his son. And because Ron had been left to watch the children, Harry quickly took off in the direction of his office, to ensure that they were alright. They were and since the better part of Draco’s forty-five minutes was up, it wasn’t long before he had to turn around and go right back to the interrogation room. This time Draco left to check on the children and Harry had fifteen minutes alone with Lucius.

            “First off Auror Potter, is everything in line with the anti-ritual?” Lucius asked, as soon as the door was shut behind Draco. “I may be in prison, but I still have my contacts and could help procure the necessary components.”

            “That won’t be necessary Lucius. My friend Hermione and I have it all in hand,” Harry replied.

            “Excellent; glad to hear it. Now, have you come to a decision regarding my offer?”

            “Yes. I’ve decided to take it, but it’s going to take me some time to arrange your release.”

            “Excellent. I trust a hero such as yourself can arrange it, but if you don’t mind, I would like to know the details.”

            “Alright. Well first I want to up your visitation with your family. Obviously your visits have been extended from two hours to eight and moved from the Azkaban Visiting Center to here. I’ve also already put in requests to have your visits increased from every six months to every month. My boss denied it and only granted you every two months, but said that if you are on your best behavior, I can refile in six months and he’ll grant it. Meanwhile I’ve made a deal with the Quibbler; I’ll give them exclusive interviews emphasizing how reformed you are, what a model prisoner you’ve become, and how I feel that it’s time your sentence was commuted to house arrest, so that you can spend more time with my children. The first interview will be this evening and he’ll have the first issue out right away. If Mr. Lovegood contacts you, it would be beneficial if you were to espouse your remorse and appear to be the model of a reformed prisoner.”

            “Not a problem. I regret all of my actions as a Death Eater and have no problem proclaiming as much to the world.”

            “Good. Also, I’ve contacted a brilliant lawyer, Mr. Williamson, who is putting together the appropriate paperwork for my petition. Williamson told me that he’ll be ready to file in six months, but won’t do so until I’ve managed to change the public’s opinion of you, because without the support of the public, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to get your sentence reduced. Overall, I estimate that within two years, I can have you home.”

            “Good to hear. I look forward to it and I am glad we could come to this arrangement; Caelum will be pleased.”

            “I hope so; he seemed pleased when we discussed the possibility, but I haven’t told him that it’s actually happening yet…”

            “That is for the best. There is no need exciting him when it might take years to complete,” Lucius said and Harry agreed. “Now that our business is complete, please fetch my son and remaining grandchildren, so that we may exchange our farewells.”

            Harry agreed to sacrifice the remainder of his timeslot and soon returned with Draco and the oldest five children. By the time he returned to the interrogation room, Lucius’ ankles were once again chained to his chair, since there were more than two of them entering the room. There were hugs and words of love and encouragement, Lucius filling every last minute until his time was up. Then Harry and Draco collected their things and led the children back towards the floo. Lucius was properly secured and taken back to Azkaban.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is a little late, but I was struggling with the Lucius discussing Harry and Draco’s relationship part and it was hard to find time to write while on vacation at my brother’s ranch. There is always something going on around here, from catching a rattlesnake, to the dogs and rabbits escaping, to treating the puppy for rattlesnake bites. The best part was that I finally got to see my new nephew, who is absolutely adorable; I’ll probably use him for inspiration when Draco’s baby finally arrives.  
> Please review!


	20. Chapter20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank Artemis and diddleymaz for reviewing the last chapter! Your feedback is much appreciated!

Weaning Aries and Aries playing the piano. Sev is late. Aries gets a toddler bed for his birthday

Z

            “Draco, isn’t Severus overdue? Shouldn’t you make another appointment at St. Mungo’s?” Harry asked.

            “No, we just had Aries’ birthday two days ago and Carina’s isn’t for another two weeks,” Draco replied.

            Unlike the other children, they hadn’t thrown Aries a party. They were going to, until they realized that the toddler wasn’t particularly fond of the noise and people. During all of the other parties, he always managed to sneak away and end up on the piano, instead of playing outside in the wading pool. He even threw a couple of tantrums at being made to go outside with the other children.

            Aries’ gifts were delivered by owl; he got almost as many as the other children, despite the lack of party. There were plenty of new clothes, the favorite of which was a shirt and trousers set with patches on them that were spelled to play a simple tune when pressed. There was also an assortment of musical toddler toys, from stuff toys that sing when squeezed, to a pair of maracas, to a drum set, to a set of sorter blocks that played a tune when the correct shape was put into the correct hole. Probably the nicest gift was the toddler bed Draco’s friends had teamed up to buy. It was set up in the nursery with his abraxan bedding set, but they had plans to move him into a big boy room for Christmas. Harry was also considering buying Aries a new bedding set for Christmas, to go with the move, because he still wasn’t fond of the overly loud abraxan set.

            Instead of the party, the family went on an outing to a symphony. It was a large family outing, because Hermione, Ron, and Teddy had all gone with them. The location was chosen, because of Aries’ newfound talent on the piano. Most of the kids were bored by it and Brax even fell asleep in his seat, but the three little ones loved it, moving along in their seats to the beat. Afterwards the performers let the birthday boy go up on stage to try out the various instruments.

            Aries picked up the drums right away and kept gravitating towards the guitar. They let him pound away a few songs at the piano and all agreed that he was musically gifted, especially given the short amount of time he’d been playing. They even had offers from people wanting to give him free lessons and mold him into their protégé. Draco thought it would be enriching for Aries, but they didn’t have time to be dragging Aries to private lessons every weekend. Hermione stepped in then and offered to take him, because she couldn’t bear for him to miss out on an opportunity like this. Plus she wanted the chance to bond with Harry’s son.

            Normal busy schedule aside, Draco was too heavily pregnant to be shepherding children anywhere. Technically he was past due, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Harry; he had been ten months pregnant with Carina and halfway to ten with Aries. Harry worried way too much and would insist on having the baby surgically removed, just because Severus was taking his time arriving. This was Harry’s first pregnancy as the dad and he was overly anxious about _everything_. This was Draco’s ninth pregnancy and he seemed to be of a mind set to just let whatever was going to happen, happen.

            “But Carina and Aries were both late, weren’t they? You conceive on Halloween night, which means that the babies should be born on July thirty-first; my birthday. That was over a two weeks ago.”

            “Every child is different. Cyg came early and Carina was a tad late. The trend in the last few years has been for later and later arrivals. It’s normal with repeat pregnancies, because my body has increased its tolerance for child bearing. I can handle longer, so the babies stay longer. When my body can no longer support Severus, he’ll come out.”

            “But what if he doesn’t? What if something goes wrong and he never comes out? Or if he dies without coming out; that can happen sometimes.”

            “Says who?”

            “I saw it on TV.”

            “That muggle thing?”

            “Yes and it was a medical program, not a fictional one.”

            “Regardless, it was muggle. If you want me to disturb Severus when he’s perfectly happy where he is and not bothering me, then you can leave. Go back to Grimmauld Place and pester your doxies.”

            “I can’t leave now; not with you out of commission. Your mum needs the help with the kids. Even if Molly has been helping out in the mornings, you need me after lunch.” Molly’s preschool classes ended at lunch time, which was why the children were more work in the afternoons.

            Molly, Andy, and Narcissa had gotten together and formed a grandmothers group. Molly and Narcissa were both homeschooling their grandchildren and they had recently agreed to work together, to do so more efficiently. Andy had no experience with teaching school and had been sending Teddy to an expensive private wizarding primary school. But now that everyone knew the truth, Narcissa had agreed to take the job. This meant that Narcissa received a much needed income for herself and that Teddy got to go to school with Harry’s other children. Molly’s grandchildren Victoire and Lucy, too, were now being taught by Narcissa. Victoire was Abraxas’ age, but behind in several subjects and Lucy was the same age as Lyra. Adding them to the group meant that the children were closer in age and subject material, making Narcissa’s job easier.

            In return for taking Victoire and Lucy for Kindergarten, Molly was taking Cyg, Cassy, and Aries for preschool. Molly’s other grandchildren were all in preschool, so it was easier for her to do preschool. Her only grandson, Fred, was in the same year as Cassy, while her granddaughters Dominique and Little Molly were the same age at Cyg and Aries, respectively. That made six children in three grades, which worked out well for Molly too, especially because she loved working with the little ones. The arrangement meant that the kids would receive two more years of preschool than they would otherwise.

            As the number of Malfoy children increased, it became increasingly difficult for Draco and Narcissa to handle it all. At first Narcissa had done preschool and watched the babies, while Draco tended the crops, but when Scorp began Kindergarten, Draco had had to start watching Cyg and Cassy. Each year there was another child to teach and another baby for Draco to watch. Narcissa simply didn’t have time to teach two and three year olds with a classroom full of older children. They had switched then to Draco handling a portion of the preschool curriculum. He learned how to work the material in, by singing the ABC song and counting while tending the crops. Add in lessons of shapes and colors before naptime and an hour with Narcissa in the afternoon and preschool was covered. It worked for Cyg and Cassy, but Aries needed the extra preschool, so Harry was especially pleased Molly had agreed to take him.

            With Molly handling preschool in the mornings, that just left Draco to take care of Carina and the field of plants. He’d still been quite mobile up until the last few days. It was only now that his waist had grown so large as to impede his movement that he had stopped being able to keep up with his usual schedule. Narcissa and the older children were all spending time out in the field, as part of an annual unit on farming designed to take some of the workload off of Draco this time of year. The children didn’t have magic, but were fairly adept at weeding and harvesting by hand, while Narcissa covered the wand work.

            Harry had been home from work all week, having taken time off in anticipation of the birth. He’d spent that time helping Draco get around, taking care of Carina, watching the younger children in the afternoon, and trying his wand out in the field. Carina had recently learned to walk, so she was more of a handful than she’d been. With her new skill, she was thinning out and turning into a beautiful blond haired green eyed toddler. That combined with the fact that Draco was so round that he couldn’t comfortably hold a toddler, meant that Harry was needed to help out.

            “Aunt Andy offered to come over and help for a week or two; just until I deliver. Apparently she’s bored and does nothing more with her day than visit various old ladies and have tea,” Draco said. “If she’s here, then you can go back to work. Don’t you have evil villains to chase?”

            “That was nice of her,” Harry conceded, “and Ron promised to catch all of the bad guys for me. But aren’t you tired of being pregnant? Don’t you want your body back?”

            “No, I’ve gotten used to it actually. And Severus dropped back in July; it’s always more comfortable once they’ve dropped. If he hadn’t dropped, then I would be willing to get checked out, but he has, which means he’s fine.”

            “Dropped? What’s that? And why didn’t you tell me?”

            “I did tell you; I told you I was no longer having trouble breathing.”

            “Yes, but I still don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

            “During the final stage of the pregnancy, when the baby prepares for the birthing process, the baby drops. Before, I was carrying him high, up here, where he was crushing my lungs. But now he’s down here, where he’s crushing my bladder. Except for the incontinence, it’s immeasurably more tolerable. So because he has dropped, I know he’s coming. He is just taking a few more days, because he’s fine.”

            “How do you know he’s fine?”

            “I feel him kicking me all night long and half the day. He wouldn’t be kicking if he wasn’t fine.”

            “Why don’t we just go get you checked out? If you’re right and everything is fine, we’ll come back home. What’s the harm?”

            “The harm is that you’ll convince the healer that Severus needs to come out now, because you don’t know the meaning of the word patience. Go cuddle with Carina if you’re that desperate for a baby.”

            Harry had just put Carina down for a nap in the next room, but she’d be available for a cuddle in an hour or two.

            “I’m not desperate; I just want to check on him.”

            “Well too bad. Why don’t you go back to work, so that you’re not home bothering me?”

            “I took this time off, because I want to spend it with you and Severus once he’s born. He was supposed to be here by now; my entire vacation time is getting used up before he even gets here.”

            “That’s your fault for making the mistake of expecting a baby to come on time. You should have known from the three month span in the birthdays of our first eight children that you can’t predict when a baby will arrive. Just firecall your boss, inform him of your mistake and desire to return to work, and I’ll owl you when I go into labor. I’ll even let you hold my hand during the labor.”

            “You’re really not going to budge on this? You haven’t been to the healers since we found out he was a boy.”

            “I indulged you once and look where that got us; mobbed by the press. They know I’m due any day now and I guarantee you they’ll be camped out in the lobby waiting for us.”

            Harry knew Draco was right about that. Even if they were just going in for a checkup, the press would be on them from the moment they stepped out of the floo.

            “Alright, how about I get a healer to come here then?”

            “I still don’t like being prodded like an animal at the zoo.”

            “No touching then; just spells to check if the baby is still alive.”

            “Alright, as long as you’ll agree to return to work when the healer confirms that everything is fine, even if she wants to deliver just to be on the safe side.”

            It was as good as he was going to get, so Harry agreed. It was short notice, but Healer Smith happened to have some free time and agreed to make a house call. The first spell confirmed that the baby was still alive and the second revealed that both Draco and Severus’ vitals were in the normal range. Severus was two weeks past due, according to Healer Smith, and Draco really ought to be induced. But as long as Severus wasn’t in any danger, the healer was willing to let the pregnancy continue; she did however want to come back for a few minutes every day to check Severus’ continued health. At this stage, these things could change very quickly.

            Harry owled his boss with the news that he was coming back to work. He honestly didn’t know how Narcissa was going to handle all of the children with Draco too pregnant to help. He’d have to owl Andy and make sure she was coming tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next is the birth/anti-ritual…maybe, otherwise it’ll be Carina’s birthday and an even later birth. I haven’t written it yet, so it’s still this vague amorphous idea of a chapter. There were actually a number of 10 month pregnancies in my family. They say there is a link between 10 month babies and geniuses, either because large brains take longer to develop, or longer developmental time leads to larger brains; there are also a lot of geniuses in my family. Severus is going to be a genius, because of Voldemort’s ritual calling upon their ancestors to create the perfect child. The only question is should Severus be born before or after Carina? What do you think? Please review!


	21. Chapter21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Having Carina’s birthday first, so that Severus can have the last birthday, won.

            Percy’s toddler, Molly, had had her second birthday party the week after Caelum’s birthday. The Weasleys had arranged for a petting zoo then and to make things easier on them, Harry agreed to reuse the theme for his youngest, especially because Carina was so fond of animals. Given that it was Carina’s first birthday, they had forgone the waterpark theme and the petting zoo was the perfect replacement, because animals seemed fond of Carina. Birds were especially fond of her, following her around as she toddled on unstable feet.

            The dry birthday party was a fortuitous move, because fall was already coming in and Carina’s birthday had been a chilly day that turned into pouring rain and thunderstorms. The children had played outside all morning with the animals, but then the rain started, so they bundled up the kids and ushered them under the marque tent. The tent wouldn’t hold for long in that rain, so they rushed through the cake and presents and sent the guests home. Carina hadn’t even been able to try out her new baby broom that Harry had gotten her that day, although he had since taken her out on it.

            Draco was still pregnant, Severus even later now than he’d been before. Healer Smith was still making regular house calls to check on their health. Draco and the baby continued to be in excellent health, so the situation was allowed to continue.

            Harry was anxious about the wait, but in the meantime, he still had eight other kids. Aries was chief among his thoughts, because he felt as if Aries was falling behind, especially when he thought back to how Cassy had been last year. When he’d met the two year old Cassy, she was weaned, potty trained, mostly able to dress herself, and could count to twenty; Aries could do none of those things. Thus Harry decided a talk with Draco was in order and sat himself down next to Draco on the sofa. Aries was the only child in the room at the time and hopefully he’d be too little to understand they were talking about him.

            “Draco, I want to talk to you about Aries.” Aries looked up from his Playdoh at the mention of his name, but went back to his sculpting once he confirmed that he wasn’t being called.

            “Alright,” Draco replied. “What about Aries? Does Hermione not want to take him on Saturdays anymore?” Hermione had been taking Aries to mentoring with his piano tutor.

            “No, that’s all fine. She says he’s alright.” Actually what Hermione said was that he was no worse than little Fred, but Harry knew Draco wouldn’t appreciate the comparison. “Well, er…” Harry then spotted Cassy through the open doorway to her room. She had climbed onto Carina’s toy broom and was trying to fly. “Oi, Cassy!” he called, getting up and going after the three-year-old. “That broom’s not big enough for you. You asked for the abraxan, not a broom. Next year you can ask for your own broom.”

            “This one’s too little and t’others’re too big and the pony’s too little ta fly; it’s not fair,” Cassy pouted as Harry lowered her to the ground.

            Harry put the broom up, out of reach, before turning back to Cassy. “You have plenty of other toys you can play with. You have a bike, a trampoline, a playground, and you can still ride your pony.”

            “Yeah, but Ikin never play pony, ‘cause no one wanna watch me.”

            Harry sighed, knowing she was right. She was too little to use the animal without supervision. Draco couldn’t do it and Narcissa was busy planning her week’s lessons for the older children. The older children had gone to the Burrow for the morning, because they’d complained that they’d never gotten to paint or do the type of crafts the younger children got to do all day. It was only the preschoolers who were left there for Harry to watch and he liked it that way, because it meant more individual attention for each child. “Alright Cassy, I’ll take you to ride your pony later, but not right now.”

            “When?”

            “When the other kids return. Why don’t you play with Cyg? What’s he up to?”

            “Cyg dig fer worms; boys,” Cassy said exasperated.

            “Well how about Aries then? He’s playing with his Playdoh.’

            “Kay,” Cassy agreed, before bouncing off into the sitting room to play with her little brother.

            How Draco kept track of all of them when they were on different floors, Harry didn’t know. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with Cyg being downstairs, when he and Draco were on the second floor, and had the urge to migrate down there, to keep an eye on the four year old. But first he had something he needed to say to Draco. He sat back down and took a deep breath, before finally getting to the point. “Have you thought about weaning Aries? He’s two, isn’t it time you stop breast feeding him?”

            “I don’t typically stop breast feeding one until the next baby comes along. It’s all about how many monsters I can stand sucking on me, which is two, by the way. As long as Sev stays where he is, I don’t have a problem nursing a little while longer.”

            “But Sev is going to be here any day now. We might as well start now.”

            Draco looked at Harry skeptically, before responding. “No.”

            “No? Why?”

            “Because I have a pattern established and it works. I get two babies to cuddle with at all times. Once the third comes along, I can explain that I can’t cuddle Aries, because the new baby needs me and he is a big boy. Until then, it just seems cruel to both of us.”

            Harry was beginning to think that his youngest two children were never going to be weaned, if it took a new baby to stop Draco from nursing the last. “And how old are Carina and Sev going to be before they’re weaned?” he asked. Draco didn’t have an answer for that. “Don’t you think it’d be best to establish the cutoff at two? That way you’re not dragging it on forever?”

            “I’ll nurse this baby until he’s seventeen if I want to.” Draco tried to sound angry and petulant, but his breathing was shallow and he had a quaver to his voice, as if he was holding back tears.

            “Draco, what’s wrong?” Harry was concerned now, inching closer cautiously.

            “It’s… _my_ …body. I can…nurse…whoever…I want...however…long…I want.” Each word was separated by an intake of breath as Draco began hyperventilating.

            Harry realized then that he was encroaching into an area he didn’t want to touch. He didn’t have any right to tell Draco what to do with his body, even when it came to their children. Unless it had gone on unreasonably long, he really should keep his mouth shut and let Draco decide. He’d gone too far and made Draco feel violated. “Oh sh—” he stopped himself from cussing, because of the two children in the room. Then he summoned a paper bag, which he handed over to Draco, who used it to breathe. “Here. Sorry, um, Draco, er, I didn’t mean to say you couldn’t. You can keep nursing them if you want to. I never should’ve said it. Should I get you a calming draught?”

            Draco was already calming down. He knew Harry wasn’t a real threat and that he shouldn’t have over-reacted. He felt foolish for doing so, even as his breathing was out of control. The bag was helping and he was soon able to put it down and breathe normally. He wanted Harry to stop staring at him with that worried expression, so he decided a bit of distraction was in order. “There is a peachick under the other sofa. Cassy’s, I think, although it’s hard to tell; they all are white.”

            Harry got up to look. Sure enough, there was a little white chick under the sofa. Harry crawled under the furniture after it, but it pecked at his finger. “Ow! Why couldn’t you just get them a dog?”

            “For one, there are no dogs running around the place laying free puppies all over the yard, and two, I don’t like the taste of canine,” Draco answered.

            “You are _not_ eating these chicks! Not after all the kids have bonded with them!” Harry hissed, having caught the chick and standing back up. It didn’t escape his attention that hatching peachicks was a typical birthday thing, but that the children didn’t have any peachicks left by December last year.

            “Not these ones, no. I prefer lamb anyway. Next year we should buy them a couple of sheep for their birthdays.”

            Harry seriously hoped Draco was joking. The chick pecked him again, reminding him that he had things to do. He took the chick downstairs to the peachick coop and put it in with the older chicks. While he was outside, he checked on Cyg who was as Cassy said, digging for worms on the side of the house.

            “Cyg, Cassy and Aries are playing with Playdoh, do you want to play?” Harry asked.

            “No, I’m gonna catch the giant sloffer worm Madam Molly told us about in class!” Cyg exclaimed in between shovels of dirt.

            “Alright, but when you’re done with that, come back inside please,” Harry replied and went back upstairs.

            “Harry, there you are. What took you so long?” Draco asked before Harry even reached the top of the stairs. “Aries ate some of that stuff; are you sure it’s safe?”

            “Yes, I’m sure. It’s designed so that young children won’t be harmed from eating it,” Harry said, going immediately over to check on the toddlers. Aries had crumbs of Playdoh in his hair, but otherwise looked fine.

            “Good. Cassy needs a timeout for calling Aries names and putting Playdoh in his hair.”

            “Cassy, that’s not nice,” Harry scolded. “Come on, to the timeout chair with you.”

            “Do I hafta? It was only Ries,” Cassy protested.

            “Yes, you do young lady. That’s not how Madam Pince taught us to treat our little brothers, is it?”

            “Madam Pince is boring,” Cassy replied.

            “She may be, but I don’t like it when you’re mean to Aries. Now sit here for three minutes,” Harry said, putting his daughter on the timeout chair.

            Cassy obeyed and Harry went back to Draco.

            “Look Draco, about earlier, I said it all wrong. What I meant was to ask you what you think is a reasonable amount of time to nurse our younger children. I’m not going to tell you what you should do with your body, but I’d like to know,” Harry said.

            “I was planning on nursing them both until Sev is two. Then I’ll…” Draco trailed off.

            “Then you’ll revert back to normal?” Harry asked.

            Draco gulped. “That’s the plan.”

            “You don’t seem too sure.”

            “It’s a big change. I’ve been stuck like this for a long time.”

            “You know, if you want to change back, you can always take the potion again.”

            “And get pregnant another nine times? No thank you.”

            “Well whatever you decide, I’ll support you. Whatever you need.”

            “Thank you.”

            “Is my time up yet?” Cassy asked.

            Harry looked at his watch, before answering. “Almost, a few more seconds.”

            When Cassy’s timeout was over, Harry took her and Aries outside to the playground and watched them. Cyg came over, evidently having given up on catching the magical worm, and joined them. It wasn’t long after than when the older children returned from their visit with Arthur and Molly and came swarming out to the playground with fresh paintings to show. Then Harry took the children over to the stable to ride the pony, as he’d promised Cassy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are getting to the end of this story. I plan on writing about the birth, anti-ritual, Halloween, and Lucius coming home, but are there any other loose ends I still need to tie up? Or scenes you’d like to see? Halloween will probably end up with a good dose of intimacy between Harry and Draco; just how far should they take it? If Draco asked Harry to go all the way, how should Harry respond? Is Draco ready for that? How much would he even ask for? Please Review!


	22. Chapter22

            Harry had trouble concentrating at work knowing that Draco could go into labor at any moment, but luckily his boss was understanding and let him just do paperwork. Each day that passed without any signs the impending birth was difficult. He didn’t know how he managed to get through the wait, but he did. At least Healer Smith was still stopping by on a daily basis, alleviating his fears and verifying that nothing had yet gone wrong.

            Draco, on the other hand, didn’t seem the least bit concerned by the late arrival, even though his body was expanding every day. He was so fat now that he could barely walk up and down the stairs and had to have his mother expand his largest paternity robes to fit around him. He’d worn these robes when he was nine month pregnant with the other children, so they had already been expanded several times. Carina, the largest baby so far, had weighed a solid ten pounds and was a big baby, but Severus was angling to be larger still.

            The weekend before the birth Harry was only able to keep from pestering Draco by concentrating on someone else. That someone was Aries. Somehow in the excitement over the late arrival, Aries was being left behind. Their little boy was two now, but Draco hadn’t started to potty train him. Cassy was potty trained by Christmas the previous year, which meant Draco had to have started with her soon after her second birthday. It was time someone started teaching Aries or he really would be behind.

            Of course Narcissa and Draco didn’t bother pointing out that Aries was behind in anything these days. Instead they praised the toddler’s piano playing and artwork as genius. He was attending preschool classes at the Burrow now and always coming back knowing a new song or with a new painting. Molly loved art time and even had a painting nook set up, complete with easels; the children loved it too. Even the older children, who hadn’t been allowed much painting, were always asking to go over to the Burrow on weekends to paint. And out of all the children, Malfoy and Weasley, Aries was the best painter.

            Aries had come home just the other day with a painting of his pet peachick that was so good Draco had framed it and hung it in the entry way. It actually looked like the little white chick that the toddler was always carrying around with him wherever he went. It wasn’t the rough outline that sort of resembled a bird if one squinted and turned their head just so, but an actual likeness. There was no outline, only shading with different whites and greys that Aries had allegedly mixed himself, using nothing but the white, black, and brown Molly provided. It wasn’t perfect and was a bit pixelated, because of the large size of the brush used, but it was still bloody amazing for a two year old.

            Draco had given all of the children, except for Carina, peacock eggs for their birthday. They were a free and well-loved birthday tradition among the Malfoy children. All of the other kid’s chicks were bigger now, but as one of the last birthdays, Aries’ chick was barely hatched when school started. Molly was nice enough to allow Aries to take the animal to school with him and adopted it as the class pet. For his first day of school, he put the animal in the top pocket of his overalls. He looked absolutely adorable going to school like that; it was one of Harry’s favorite pictures of Aries.

            Amazing artistic and musical skills, however, wouldn’t get Aries that far in life if he didn’t learn to use the potty. Draco and Narcissa were impressed now, but that wouldn’t remain the case forever. Eventually attention would once again be drawn to the areas where the toddler was behind, like dressing and counting; calling every number two was cute for a two-year-old, but didn’t fly in the real world. Aries would have to go through all of the typical milestones that were required of any toddler. And with the new baby on the way, they wouldn’t have time later. Thus Harry’s determination to start now and the reason he’d purchased a training potty on his way home from work Friday evening.

            “Okay Aries, this is a potty. Daddy bought it especially for you,” Harry said, displaying the miniature contraption. How Draco had managed to potty train the other children without a toddler potty, he didn’t know.

            “Daddy,” Aries replied.

            “Yes Aries, can you say pot-ty?”

            “I Ries Daddy.” Aries pointed to his chest, to emphasize his point.

            “Right, Ries, can you say pot-ty?” Harry asked again.

            Molly had let Aries introduce himself at preschool. Instead of teaching the child his full name, she’d reinforced the nickname he’d given himself and it had since spread, becoming more prolific. It was easier for toddlers to say and it seemed to have stuck.

            “Pot-teee!” Aries jumped up in the air when he answered. He really loved the trampoline Cyg had gotten for his birthday. It was a good thing Draco made the children share. Of course that also meant that Cyg and the others had time on Aries’ piano and on Cassy’s pony. Riding and animal husbandry lessons were an added enrichment to the children’s lives, but the piano lessons worked out to be murder on Harry’s ears. Brax was bloody awful on the piano and could only be described as murdering the keys. Most of the other children weren’t much better at it, but then they’d only had the baby grand for a few weeks. However, they all did take right to the horseback lessons, the lot of them natural riders.

            “Very good. And what do we do with the potty?”

            “Poo-poo!”

            “And pee-pee,” Harry added. It was easier to start with urination, wasn’t it?

            “Fa’er say poo-poo,” Aries countered.

            “It’s Fa- _th_ -er,” Harry corrected. It was time Aries stopped talking like a baby. If he could memorize half a dozen songs for the piano, he could make the th sound. “We make poo-poo and pee-pee in the potty Ries.”

            “Poo-poo pee-pee,” Aries recited.

            “Right, now let me show you how this works. You take your clothes off, sit down, and make pee-pee. Then you’re a big boy,” Harry explained, helping Aries out of his overalls.

            Aries was in an overall phase right now. He wanted to wear only them, because of the convenient chick pocket on the bib. But overalls were a pain to open, especially when you considered how backwards Aries was with getting dressed in the first place. Harry decided to look into his son’s wardrobe for some sweatpants. Draco wasn’t fond of sweatpants on the children, but a potty training toddler needed them. Teddy had practically lived in sweatpants and those little jeans with the elastic waists when he was two.

            “Pee-pee,” Aries cried, just as Harry was getting him out of his nappy. The toddler peed and the yellow liquid flew everywhere, totally uncontrolled.

            “Yes, but sitting down on the potty next time Ries, yeah?” Harry asked, wiping urine off of his glasses.

           Draco heard the commotion and was intrigued by Harry’s girly scream. He came waddling into the loo to have a look. He doubled over in laughter when he saw Harry covered in piss and Aries standing there with his little penis hanging out of his nappy.

            “Ries, how did you ever convince Daddy to fall for that one?” Draco asked his son, before holding his hand up for a high five. “Give me five.” Aries smacked Draco’s hand, giggling. “About time Daddy got peed on; you certainly pissed on me enough.” Aries nodded in agreement.

            “I was trying to potty train him,” Harry explained, vanishing pee droplets from the wall.

            “Aries? Our Aries? Did you hit your head?” Draco asked Harry.

            “I Ries,” Aries corrected.

            “No. He’s two, isn’t he?” Harry asked.

            “Yes, but what does that have to do with it? I’m not even going to attempt it with this one until he’s three.”

            “But you potty trained Cassy at two!”

            “Cassy potty trained herself at two. I was aiming for Cyg, actually. Ly was early too; I think it’s a girl thing. I was thinking of doing Ries and Carina at the same time. That way, I don’t have to go through it twice,” Draco explained.

            “Cary!” Ries exclaimed, dashing out the opened bathroom door naked except for his t-shirt, his nappy down around his ankles.

            Harry took off after Aries, catching the toddler before he got too far. Draco followed after, summoning a fresh nappy and handing it over to Harry.

            “Sure, why not? I mean, why don’t we just wait until Sev is two and do all three of them at once?” Harry asked, while seeing to Aries’ nappy. It was harder than it sounded, because the toddler kept squirming.

            “Maybe. It depends on how slow on the uptake Carina is.”

            “Argh, I was being sarcastic. Stop wriggling Ries, Daddy needs to put your nappy back on.”

            The nappy was all turned around now, so Harry was left with no choice but to take it off and start over. This time he pinned Aries to the floor with a forearm across the chest while he worked. When the nappy was finally on, he didn’t bother with the overalls, instead letting Aries run off with just a shirt and nappy. By then Draco had returned to lounging on the sofa and Harry joined him, exhausted from the failed potty-training attempt. And then a beautiful rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star filled the air, coming up from the library.

            “At least we know where Ries has gone off to,” Draco commented. The playing was too good to be anyone else but Aries or Narcissa.

            “Yep,” Harry agreed. “I guess I can understand holding off on potty training him; every child is different, right?”  
            “Yes, and they do things at their own pace. You’ll be a level two parent once you accept that.”

            “Level two?”

            “On a scale of ten.”

            “And you’re a ten, then?”

            “At least. Now, go put away that ridiculous little potty before Carina gets into it and put some trousers on our son,” Draco ordered.

            Harry did as told.

            When Monday came around, Harry went back to work, once more leaving Draco home. The healer continued to stop by daily to check on Draco, ensuring the continued health of the unborn baby. Each day that passed she grew increasingly concerned. On Tuesday, she just couldn’t hold her tongue any longer.

            “Draco, I’m concerned with the size the baby is getting to be. He weighs just shy of twelve pounds and he’s gaining more every day. Even if physically he is fine inside you, he will soon grow so large that he’ll have trouble coming out. You don’t want to have a Caesarian Section, do you?” Healer Smith asked.

            “Carina was ten and she came right out. It was an easy labor; one hour and two pushes and it was over. Twelve might take a few more pushes, but I can handle it,” Draco said, unconcerned.

            Healer Smith didn’t have much hope of winning this argument, because Harry was already at work and not there to back her up. “Perhaps you would let me examine you to make sure that is really the case,” she compromised.

            “No—no touching until I’m in labor—that was the deal,” Draco insisted.

            And so Healer Smith left and came back the next day. Severus was larger still and showed no signs of making an appearance anytime soon. The healer was becoming increasingly anxious, because Draco was five weeks passed due. And then on September seventh two thousand six, Draco _finally_ went into labor. It was a Thursday evening and the family had just finishing dinner when the first contraction hit. Draco’s water broke immediately, turning his light colored robes and the chair underneath him a mustard yellow color.

            “Draco, what’s wrong? What’s happening?” Harry asked in response to Draco’s exclamation of pain.

            “Labor. We need to go to St. Mungo’s now,” Draco replied, standing up.

            “Take him Harry; I’ll call my sister over to help me with the children,” Narcissa said.

            Harry helped Draco waddle to the fireplace in the drawing room. They flooed to hospital, where they were swarmed by the waiting press. Draco was in no condition to walk all of the way to the maternity/paternity ward, especially with the press hounding them. Thankfully the reception witch came over with a wheelchair for Draco, before calling for security and a medi-witch.

            Draco was taken to the delivery room and Harry followed behind, panicking. Draco was cleaned up, changed into a hospital gown, and put into the hospital bed. Healer Smith arrived and started checking Draco over with a team of all witch staff. One of the nurses noticed Harry hyperventilating in the corner and made him sit down. She talked to him, calmly explaining what was happening and that everything was fine.

            Draco was in labor and his water had broken, which was what they wanted to happen, since he was past-due. The water was yellow, because the baby had defecated inside of Draco, which was common for post-term babies. A simple spell had cleaned Draco and the baby up and everything would be fine. Draco had been given a pain potion and a calming draught. The calming draught was for precautionary measures, because they knew of his phobia of being touched. Delivering a baby would require touching in sensitive areas, so it was best to ensure Draco remained calm.

            Once Harry stopped freaking out, he was allowed to go over to Draco and hold Draco’s hand. Draco’s eyes were closed as if in sleep, totally out of it from the strong dose of calming draught. None of the action seemed to be on Draco’s part, so after a few minutes Harry began to watch Healer Smith, who was working between Draco’s legs. Draco’s legs were pulled up and fastened into a pair of stirrups.

            “Would you like to see your son coming out Harry?” Healer Smith asked.

            “Yes, can I?” Harry asked.

            “Of course, just don’t touch anything.”

            “Alright, yeah.”

            Healer Smith directed Harry to stand by her, where he had a clear view of the birth canal. Draco’s lap was covered with the hospital sheet, but a very large opening was exposed. The opening was surrounded with course dirty blond hairs and in the middle of it could be seen a wet head of black hair. The head still had several inches left to go before it would be crowning, but Harry was none-the-less amazed by the sight.

            “Draco told me a very large baby wouldn’t be a problem for him and it looks like he was right. Severus is halfway out and Draco’s only been in labor for forty-five minutes. Another half an hour more and he’ll be here.”

            “Already?” Harry asked nervously.

            “Yes and it’s about time, don’t you think?”  
            “Yes.”

            “Good. Now why don’t you go up by Draco’s head and try to see if you can get him to push. This will go faster if he pushes,” Healer Smith said.

            Harry did as instructed. He stroked Draco’s face and called Draco’s name.

            “Hmm?” Draco asked lazily, opening a pair of droopy eyes and fixing them on Harry.

            “Draco, Severus is ready to come out now; you need to push,” Harry said.

            Draco didn’t seem to be interested in that news, because his eyes closed and he didn’t reply.

            “Let’s give the calming draught some time to wear off and then we’ll try again. This labor is progressing rapidly, so there is no harm in giving him some time.

            Harry sat by Draco’s side to wait. Healer Smith checked Draco every ten minutes to see if the calming draught had worn off at all. Half an hour later she got a response from Draco. Draco didn’t open his eyes, but he did bear down and push. The push made a lot of progress, but was not to be repeated, because Draco seemed to remain asleep. Another ten minutes later she tried again and this time Draco woke up and pushed properly.

            It took five pushes in all and then Severus’ head was out and Harry heard the baby’s screams. Healer Smith was busy clearing the baby’s airways and Harry looked down in amazement at the sight of his son’s little face. It was scrunched up, puffy, and covered in Draco’s blood, but it was beautiful. It was small and pointed and that was about all Harry could tell about the features with the way they were contorted in complaint.

            “Draco, our son’s head is out. He’s so beautiful; I wish you could see,” Harry said, squeezing Draco’s hand gently.

            “Hmm,” Draco replied sleepily.

            “Alright Draco, one last push and little Severus should be out,” Healer Smith said.

            Draco pushed and Severus’ huge body slipped out. The baby was almost two feet long and weighed twelve and half pounds. He was big for a newborn, but his head was still the typical cone shape from having passed through the birth canal and his face was still red and puffy from having just been born. Healer Smith handed the baby to Harry and directed them over to the waiting nurses, to get the baby cleaned up, while she tended to Draco and the after birth.

            A short while later Harry brought their newly bathed son over to Draco. “Do you want to hold him?” Harry asked Draco. The blood was now gone from the baby, revealing Draco’s chin and basic facial structure, but Lily’s lips and nose and Harry’s raven hair.

            “No, too sleepy. I’ll hold him in the morning,” Draco replied, keeping his eyes closed.

            And so Draco had a well-deserved rest compliment of the remaining effects of the calming draught, while Harry reclined back in a comfortable arm chair and bonded with his baby. Baby Sev did nothing but sleep in Harry’s arm for several hours, his little hands tucked up under his little chin as they clung tightly to his chest, his little legs equally as curled. Occasionally he twitched or made a suckling motion with his mouth, but otherwise he was contently swaddled in a blanket in his daddy’s arms.

            Sev stirred and cried only when it was time for his first feeding and he was handed over to a sleepy Draco for the first time. Draco fed the baby, placed a gentle kiss on the soft little head, and handed him back to Harry, still exhausted from the birth. Sev then opened his eyes and looked straight at Harry. His eyes were light; not quite blue, but too dark to be Draco’s grey; eventually they would turn green, but it would be months before that happened. In that instant when their eyes met, Harry knew he loved his newest son dearly and would do anything to make sure Sev was safe and happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you’ve all been waiting for the baby a long time and I hope I didn’t disappoint. The birth down, the anti-ritual to go. Please Review; it will give me inspiration to write the anti-ritual chapter!


	23. Chapter23

        Hermione had put a lot of research into the anti-ritual and had painstakingly gone over Draco’s memory of the original ritual to make sure she had covered everything. She knew how much they were counting on this anti-ritual to break what felt like an awful curse. If it went right, Draco would regain control of his body and no longer be forced to bear Harry’s child every year. It would mean that they wouldn’t have a tenth child that they had to take care of and love.

        Of course Draco and Harry did care for their nine children and love them each very much. If they did end up in the same situation all over again and had to have a tenth child, they would love him or her too. But they both knew they needed another baby like they need a hole in the head. Sev was only three weeks old; of course he was a very large and extremely advanced three weeks, because he had been born so late, but he was still little and they didn’t need another baby.

        Molly and Arthur Weasley along with Draco’s Aunt Andy came over that day to help Narcissa with the children, so that Harry and Draco could leave. They were supposed to be meeting Ron and Hermione at Grimmauld Place to conduct the anti-ritual. Draco was already dressed, but had to feed Severus one last time. When Harry finished getting dressed, he found Draco rocking back and forth with Sev in the nursery. Draco was done, but looked to be clinging to the baby and not at all mentally prepared to go.

        “Draco, it’s time, we need to go. Sev will be fine with your mum,” Harry said gently, coming to stand in front of Draco, who was holding their youngest son. In the three and a half weeks they’d had Sev, the baby had spit up, thrown up, cried at, peed on, and kept Harry up at night more than any of the other children, combined. There were even a few leaky nappies that had left repulsive brown stains on his robes. Newborns were infinitely harder than older babies, but Harry wouldn’t trade a minute of it.

        “Just one more minute,” Draco said.

        Harry nodded and waited, but after several minutes, Draco still had made no move to stand or leave. “Draco, what’s wrong?”

        Draco looked up at Harry with wide, scared eyes. “What if it doesn’t work?”

        “Then we’ll have one more baby to love and try again next year,” Harry reassured.

        Draco gulped and said, “No, I meant what if it goes wrong. Like really wrong. What if it turns me back into a man and I can’t feed Sev?”

        “It won’t.”

        “But what if it does?”

        “Then I’ll buy milk for him, but it won’t. Hermione’s very thorough and I trust she knows what she’s doing. She says it’ll make no outward changes and will only dry up your internal supply of fertilized zygotes.” Of course that meant there was still a danger of Draco getting pregnant if he had sex, but the odds of that were virtually zilch.

        “Are you sure?”

        “Yes, now come on. I know Sev is adorable, but he’ll be here when we come back.”

        Draco took one more look at the baby in his arms. Sev was sleeping peacefully, one balled up fist peeking through the swaddling blanket to rest under his chin the way he liked it. His nappy was clean and he’d just been fed and burped, so Draco had no excuse to linger. Draco sighed and patted down the tufts of black hair one last time, before carefully rising and putting the baby in one of the cribs. Harry stepped behind him, reassuringly gripped his shoulders, and pressed a cheek to his cheek. Draco nodded, ducked out of Harry’s grip, and apparated to Grimmauld Place. Harry apparated after, disappearing just as Lyra entered the room. Their oldest daughter had a thing for babies and she took advantage of being alone with Sev, by pulling the rocking chair up to his crib and watching him sleep.

        Ron was there at Grimmauld Place, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, eating a bacon sandwich over a plate. He grunted in acknowledgement, swallowing a large bite of food.

        Harry nodded back, but Draco just looked at the floor, his nervousness too great.

        “Hermione’s in the yard, putting on the finishing touches,” Ron said, motioning to the back door with his head.

        “Thanks Ron,” Harry said, taking Draco’s hand and leading his boyfriend through the house.

        The ritual had been conducted under the stars at the end of October, so the anti-ritual was to be conducted under the sun at the beginning of the month. The backyard of Grimmauld Place was a tiny bare patch of dirt with random tuffs of grass, but it was more than large enough for the anti-ritual pentagram. In each point of the star was a vase of flowers, as had been in the original pentagram in the ritual. In each section of the surrounding circle cut out by the star, was a crystal soaked in a bowl of Severus’ afterbirth to transmute the energy into anti-energy; the umbilical cord and placenta had been saved from the birth, since Hermione said she would need them.

        The elements of the original ritual were seen from Draco’s pensieved memory of the event and replicated exactly, except in reverse. Each star point contained a vase carved out of garnet, only cracked instead of whole. They were each filled with a different type of brown, decaying flower, petals singed at the tips; water lily, narcissus, lavender, geranium, and marsh mallow. The shape of the pentagram was constructed using birch, oak, and hawthorn, but burnt to charcoal, leaving intact only the copper fastenings that once held it together, although blemished with soot.

        The middle of the star was empty except for the dust, because it was where they would stand. Something was needed belonging to the original caster, Lord Voldemort, and for that purpose, Harry had retrieved Peverell’s ring. The ancient stone had already been used for one too many rituals, being cracked down the middle from its time as a Horcrux. Now it had been completely destroyed, ground into the dust which was spread over the middle-most section of the pentagram.

        Hermione looked up from studying the pentagram, positive that everything was perfectly in place and ready. “Oh good, you’re here. I had a bit of trouble with getting the fire just right, but I managed it; it had to be hot enough to crack the stone vases, but cool enough to only scorch the wood and flowers. It’s a good thing the heat of magical fire can be directed,” she said, before motioning to a nearby table laden with robes and wreaths. “You’ll need to put these on.”

        Hermione gave them both charcoal black robes with moonstone sewn into them, creating a beautiful design of fire on the front. She waited until they slipped the robes on, over their heads and clothing, before handing them the wreaths for their heads. The wreaths were made out of dead olive branches with sprigs of rotten mistletoe tucked into the branches to bring infertility to once fertile ground.

        Once properly attired for the occasion, Harry and Draco stepped into the center of the pentagram, as directed by Hermione. She told them to hold out their hands, which were then coated with soot blackened marsh mallow root to fasten their hands together; the soot blackened marsh mallow would tarnish their fertility.

        Harry stared at Draco’s down cast face until Draco finally realized he was being watched and looked up. Harry caught Draco’s eye and held it, silently reassuring his boyfriend that everything would be alright. He held Draco’s gaze throughout the ceremony, green connected with silver in an intimacy that was still new. He hoped that it would give Draco the courage to continue.

        The spell that followed was complex, because both the dark magic and the séance had to be countered. Voldemort had used the dark magic to create Harry’s sperm from the borrowed blood running through Voldemort’s veins. As long as the dark magic was in effect, it was possible that Harry’s sperm could be created anew and turn up in Draco’s body, so it had to be stopped. The séance had called upon the spirits of their dead ancestors to guide the creation of new life. It had insured that each and every one of their children was extraordinary in some way. Harry hated the idea of turning away the spirits of their ancestors, which thanks to the water lily, surely included his own mother. But it had to be done, because he couldn’t have his ancestors creating any new lives for him.

        Once the anti-spell was cast, they spoke to Mother Earth, the Four Seasons, and the four points of the compass, asking for this curse to end. They called upon the spirits of infertility to make them barren and told the spirits of fertility to go away, putting forth their desire to the wind. They negated every word Voldemort spoke in the original ritual, rendering the curse null and void.

        The anti-ritual was completed with the rune of Inguz, a fertility symbol composed of two Xs, one on top of the other, with a slash through it, to negate it. It was drawn onto Draco’s forehead by Hermione, his eyes looking beyond her, to Harry off to the side. She drew it with her index finger with a thick wet mushy compound made out of bistort mixed with apples, zucchini, rice, ash, and mandrake, to exorcise the zygotes from his body. It was unknown how long zygotes could survive inside the body when a male pregnancy ritual was used, because no one had yet been able to separate out whether the residual pregnancies were the result of the residual magic creating fresh zygotes or from germinating preserved zygotes made during the original ritual. Thus both possibilities had to be countered.

        A gust of violent wind blew through the yard as Hermione finished, drawing the slashing line through the symbol. Draco’s body began to sag, his eyes wide with surprise. Harry caught Draco before he could fall, steadying him on his feet as she backed away. The rain started to fall then, bypassing lite mist and going straight to fat, heavy droplets pounding their faces and the ground.

        “Are you alright?” Harry asked concerned, blinking as a raindrop fell on his cheek, just below his right eye.

        Draco nodded. “A bit dizzy, is all.”

        “You can get him inside now, Harry; it’s over,” Hermione said, wiping the remainder of the compound off of her hand onto a rag she had.

        Harry nodded to Hermione. She would clean up, despite the rain. “What happened?” He asked, leading Draco back inside the house, into the kitchen to sit at the table. They were damp from the smattering of raindrops they’d caught, so he cast a drying charm.

        Ron noticed them and said, “I better go help Hermione clean up,” before exciting out the door they’d just come in.

        “It felt like something was leaving me. I feel empty now,” Draco answered, sounding dazed.

        “That’s good; it means it worked,” Harry said, a smile rising to his lips.

        Draco didn’t return the smile, instead clutching at his abdomen. “I thought I would feel happy about this, but I don’t. I feel like I lost something important.” His voice was small and sad.

        “It’s okay. Just keep thinking about our beautiful children back home.” Harry wasn’t sure exactly when Malfoy Manor and not Grimmauld Place had become home, but it was where his children were and undeniably home now. “We still have a newborn.”

        Draco nodded and thought of Sev. “Can we go home now?”

        “In a minute. Hermione needs to examine you first.”

        “Why?” Draco asked pleadingly. He still hated to be touched by other people.

        “Because she needs to make sure everything worked the way it was meant to,” Harry said before reassuring Draco that Hermione wouldn’t have to physically touch him.

        It was only a minute later when Hermione and Ron came in, him with a large soaking wet bag and her with her wand, in the process of performing a drying spell on them both. She cast a number of diagnostic spells on Draco, ensuring both his health and his infertility. His sperm count went from normal levels down to the teens, which was a good sign, but not actually indicative of zygote number. Unfortunately, a spell had not yet been invented that could detect zygotes in male pregnancy stasis—or even if zygotes were being held in stasis as the mechanism for spontaneous reoccurring pregnancy—so they couldn’t be one hundred percent positive the anti-ritual had worked. There was however a spell that could detect dark magic acting upon a person, which came up negative when cast upon Draco, indicating that Harry’s sperm was no longer being created inside of Draco.

        “Well I can’t be positive, of course, but I think it worked,” Hermione concluded.

        Harry thanked Hermione. He was going to take Draco back home, but Draco seemed too down to be surrounded by their children. He didn’t want the kids to worry that there was something wrong with their father, so instead he led Draco upstairs to the drawing room. He sat down on the old worn out sofa and pulled his boyfriend into his arms, placing a chaste kiss to Draco’s cheek.

        “If you really want, we can perform another male pregnancy ritual so that you can get pregnant again,” Harry said. It wasn’t that he wanted more children, but that he didn’t want to force Draco into any change, especially one this big.

        “No, I don’t want that. It’s hard to explain. I’ve wanted it to be over for so long, but now that it is, I feel empty and lonely,” Draco replied softly.

        “If you’re worried about losing the phantom, don’t be; I’m more than willing to take his place.”

        Draco nodded and said, “Thank you.”

        They sat together cuddling for some time, until Draco began to miss his real children more than the promise of children that had been taken from him. Then they apparated, one after the other, to the lawn of Malfoy Manor where the children were outside playing. Cassy and Teddy were swinging. Scorp, Cael, Lyra, and Cyg were chasing each other around the playground, broomsticks in hand; Cael crouched on top of a set of monkey bars, his broom parallel with the bars; Cyg, borrowing Teddy’s broom, was underneath a slide, avoiding his siblings for a moment as he caught his breath. Brax’s broom lay discarded on the ground behind him, his glasses on and his nose in a book, looking back and forth between Aries and the page in his book, before turning the page and methodically repeating the process. Aries was walking around in lopsided circles, his head turned around, trying to look at the furry tail that had somehow become attached to his bum. Arthur and Molly were supervising.

        “What happened to Ries?” Harry asked the group in general.

        “He had a spot of trouble with Cassy earlier; a burst of uncontrolled magic. Nothing to worry about though; St. Mungo’s can fix him right up,” Arthur said cheerily.

        “Cissy is going to take him right in; she just went inside to find his medical card,” Molly added.

        “And where’s Andy?” Harry asked.

        “Inside with Baby Sev.

        “And Cary?” Draco added. Their youngest daughter had started talking more, calling herself Cary, because it was simpler to say and because it was what Ries called her.

        “She was here a minute ago. Cary?” Molly called. The three wizards quickly joined her in calling for the missing toddler.

        Carina came toddling out from around the back corner of the house, a line of peachicks following her as she clucked instructions to them. When she passed the hopscotch lines drawn on the ground, she clumsily jumped on one leg twice, jumped on two legs, then switched legs for the last two single leg jumps. She clucked all the while and amazingly, the peachicks copied her jumps as they followed, wings flapping in the air with each jump.

        “Spectacular. Do you think she’s speaking to them or did she simply train them to follow her?” Arthur asked in his voice normally reserved for contemplating muggle artifacts.

        “Definitely talking to them,” Draco answered.

        “I’ve got it. Come on Ries,” Narcissa said, stepping out the front door. “Oh, Draco, Harry, you’re back. I hope everything went well, but I’ve no time to stop for a chat. You have seen Ries, I trust.”

        “Yes Mother, go ahead and take him. Ries, you need to go with Grandmother now to have that tail removed,” Draco ordered.

        Ries looked up from his tail, glancing at Draco, then at Narcissa. He ran to Narcissa, who took him into the house to floo to St. Mungo’s.

        “Aw, but I wasn’t done!” Brax complained, glasses pushed up on the top of his head, so he could focus away from his book.

        “And what exactly were you doing, Brax? Harry asked.

        “Trying to determine what kind of tail Ries has. I’ve narrowed it down to some sort of canine, but I haven’t figured out which.” The tone of Brax’s voice implied that this matter was of the utmost importance.

        “We’ll have to ask your grandmother what the healers have to say about it,” Harry agreed.

        “Speaking of Ries’ tail, Cassy, you need to come here and explain to me why your little brother has a tail,” Draco ordered.

        “Yes Father,” Cassy said reluctantly, gracefully disembarking from the swing.

        Draco sat Cassy down on the porch step where he proceeded to make her explain what had happened. She had gotten mad at Aries for, “Acting stupid,” and breaking the daisy chain she’d been making. The tail had then appeared spontaneously and she didn’t know how she’d done it. Draco couldn’t very well punish her for the accidental magic, but he did put her on time out for calling her brother stupid.

        Draco spent extra time that evening bathing Aries after his trip to hospital, ensuring that there were no residual signs of the tail. There wasn’t so much as a single strand of fur, thank Merlin, on the smooth pale skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is hot off the press, so I hope there aren’t too many typos. Please let me know if you spot something. Up next is Halloween; only a few chapters left now. Please Review!


	24. Chapter24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains a scene of a graphic physical nature. If you are underage or do not want to read smut, please read the version of this chapter posted on fanfiction.

            There wasn’t any dressing up in cute costumes or giving out candy on Halloween for the Malfoy family. In the wizarding world, it wasn’t a silly children’s holiday, but a very important day about honoring their ancestors and bringing the family together. Thus the Malfoys always celebrated at home with as formal as possible of a family dinner, featuring a house elf prepared feast.

            This year was the first when guests composed of their extended family, on both Draco’s and Harry’s sides, stopped by throughout the day to exchange greetings. Teddy and Dromeda stayed for the day, while the Weasleys trickled in and out during the morning, and the extended Malfoy and Black families stopped by for tea. The day was topped off with the typical family feast and afterwards, the children were tucked into bed.

            Sev had sleek black hair and eyes that had recently developed vivid flecks of green, after being bright blue for the first month. He had Draco’s chin, cheeks, forehead, and general facial structure, making him look a lot like Cael, the child who looked the most like Draco. But Harry had painstakingly compared Sev’s little features to photos of Cael at the same age and he was certain that Sev’s features were just a bit more rounded; more like Harry’s. And the nose was definitely an Evans nose, not a Malfoy or a Black nose.

            The new baby received more than his share of fawning over that day, since this was only the first or second time many in the extended family had seen him. Severus now weighed fifteen pounds, was two feet long, and a monster of a newborn, already wearing size three months. He had come out able to hold his head up and had rolled over at a month. Sometimes he would even hold his body upright for a few seconds when pushing away from an adult’s chest.

            The ability to hold eye contact for more than a second was Sev’s most recently gained skill. Draco was his favorite person to watch and he often followed Draco’s movement with his eyes, though Harry and the other Malfoys were also popular with the baby. Anyone outside the immediate family, his eyes skipped over. This disappointed many of the day’s visitors.

            Although Harry had now gone back to work, he’d taken the first four weeks of Sev’s life off, so that he could dote on his baby. Draco didn’t seem to mind not getting as much time with his newborn as he normally did. But then Draco still got to spend plenty of time with the baby, because he was nursing and covered all of the nighttime care. After already having eight babies, he didn’t mind passing the ninth one off to Harry as much as Harry liked. Draco even expressed milk sometimes and let Harry get up with Sev in the night. Tonight was one such night.

            Harry went to sleep Halloween night with a sense of eager anticipation, hoping that the anti-ritual had worked, and dread, fearing that it had not. Either way, they would find out tonight after Draco went to sleep.

            Every Halloween for the past nine years Draco had gotten pregnant. Nine years ago Voldemort had performed the original ritual that created Scorp. Then on the proceeding Halloweens, Draco had endured a dream about a faceless scrawny raven haired wizard coming to him and impregnating him. Each dream accompanied the conception of a child. Would the dream come to him again tonight and create a tenth child? Or would the anti-ritual work?

            During the first couple of times Draco had had the conception dream, he was unaware of what was going on and just lay back and experienced it. As the dream repeated itself and led to more unwanted pregnancies, he had begun to fight them, although his attempts were unsuccessful. But despite the fact that the pregnancies were still unwanted, he’d long since come to accept it as his lot in life. He’d gotten used to the dreams he was plagued with. The conception didn’t hurt and he’d begun to enjoy it as the only bit of sexual activity he got. It didn’t bother him, because it was safe for three reasons. First, it wasn’t real. Second, it never changed, so he always knew what to expect. And third, he didn’t have to do anything to initiate it or participate in it; it just happened.

            With the potential of phantom sex, Draco didn’t like sleeping in the room with the children on Halloween. He let Harry have his bed for the night and deal with Aries, Carina, and Sev, while he went upstairs to the attic studio and slept in Harry’s bed. Sometimes he had trouble sleeping on Halloween, with his mind telling him that he had to stay awake, to prevent the dream and the resulting pregnancy. Once he had tried to stay awake all night in hopes of thwarting the dream, but it hadn’t worked. He had fallen asleep and had the dream anyway. He had also tried dreamless sleep potion, but even when the dream didn’t come, the pregnancy still did. The potion was expensive to make and wasn’t good for nursing babies, so he didn’t try it a second time.

            Draco had trouble sleeping that night and he lay awake in Harry’s bed for over an hour before he was finally pulled under. In his dream the raven haired scrawny git came again and divested him of his pajamas. The wizard was on top of him, between his legs, and inside him. It was happening again, just the same as it always happened and it felt good; so good he wanted to lie there and let it happen.

And then dream-Draco pushed the git away and yelled, “No! This isn’t supposed to happen! You’re supposed to leave me alone tonight; we broke the ritual!” His voice echoed with a dreamlike quality, rippling along the periphery and the scene dissolved. Strangely enough, the wizard and the dream soon disappeared into nothingness. He woke up then sweating and panting for breath.

            Harry was concerned about Draco and if something went wrong, he wanted to know. Therefore, before he went down to the nursery to tend to their three youngest children, he cast a monitoring charm on the bed on the fourth floor. When Draco had a nightmare in that bed, he was alerted. He checked first to make sure all three little ones were still asleep and then ran upstairs.

            Draco was sitting up in what was normally Harry’s bed, his face pale and clammy.

            “What happened?” Harry asked.

            “I had the dream again,” Draco answered.

            Harry groaned in frustration and sat down on the edge of Draco’s bed, his emotion clearly evident in the sound. “It didn’t work,” he said morosely.

            They’d discussed the possibility of having another child before if it didn’t work, but now that the reality was upon Harry, the idea felt like a crushing weight. He wanted to be supportive, but in this moment he wanted more to get rid of it and make their lives easier. A series of abortions was always in the back of his mind as the absolute last resort, if they couldn’t break the curse and eventually came to the point where they absolutely couldn’t handle one more child.

Harry knew Draco would never be able to give up one of his fully formed children, even if it killed him, because the process of carrying a baby inside his body for months created an unbreakable bond of love and devotion. That unconditional love was one of the things Harry loved and admired about him, but it also meant adoption was out of the question. In the light of day Harry would have come to the conclusion that they could handle one more, but not in the oppressing darkness of All Hallows Eve. Thus one or more abortions seemed inevitable to Harry in his tired, half asleep, and not in his right mind state.

            “Look, we’ll just have to go to St. Mungo’s and get rid of it,” Harry said. “We might have to do the same again next year, but after that you’ll be done nursing, the witch bits will be gone, and then it will be physically impossible for this to happen again.”

            “No.”

            “What do you mean no? This early on it’s just an abortion potion. It barely hurts and the baby comes out like a bad period; I looked it up.” Not that there were periods with male pregnancy, but Harry figured Draco would know enough about reproduction in females to understand.

            “No, I don’t want to take it.” Draco knew they didn’t need another baby, but the idea of getting rid of one felt like a hole punched into his gut.

            Harry knew it was wrong to ask this of Draco, but he couldn’t resist uttering one last plea. “Draco, we have to break this cycle. Neither of us wants another baby and if that anti-ritual didn’t take then an abortion is the only way to go. I know it’s a baby we’re killing, but it’s only a couple of cells that haven’t even implanted inside your body yet.”

            “No, I think the anti-ritual did work.”

            “How could it have worked, if you had the dream again?”

            “It didn’t finish. I had the beginning of the dream and then I pushed him away and woke up. There was no end to it.”

            “Really? That’s great! Wait, how does it normally end?”

            “Same way sex always ends.”

            “And this time it didn’t?”

            “Definitely not.”

            “This is really great! Brilliant, truly. But you said there was one time before when you interfered with the dream with dreamless sleep and you still got pregnant. What if the dream didn’t finish, but you’re still pregnant?”

            “Then we will discuss our options when it happens. If I’m aborting a child, I would at least like to know for certain that there is a child to abort. I think the not knowing would be worse than having another child.”

            “So we wait then?”

            “Yes, we wait.” Draco looked down shyly then, seeming to need time to buck up the courage to enable him to say what came next. “I’m horny.” The dream hadn’t finished and he didn’t want to deal with the problem on his own.

            Harry took a large gasping breath of air as he processed the statement, fully aware how rare and unusual it was for Draco to say such a thing. He didn’t know if Draco had ever voiced such a feeling, ever, and he was certainly glad Draco felt comfortable and confident enough with him to do so.

Stepping closer then, Harry engulfed his boyfriend in his arms and placed a chaste kiss on Draco’s mouth. Draco felt smaller in his arms, much thinner now than when pregnant, with a waist that was once again flat and straight. Draco opened his mouth, to indicate his willingness, but didn’t seem to know how to reciprocate it. He didn’t mind though, perfectly happy to lead and show Draco what it was like to kiss; they had only done this a handful of times now, despite having decided they wanted to months ago.

            A few moments later, Harry pulled apart from Draco just far enough to whisper sultrily into Draco’s lips, “What do you want me to do to you?”

            “Make love to me,” Draco requested.

            Harry pulled back further then in disbelief, needing to look at the expression on Draco’s face to determine whether or not his boyfriend meant it. Draco wouldn’t catch his eye, so he knew Draco wasn’t ready for it and he told Draco as much. Then he offered a compromise activity, “I could make you cum with my hands, if you’d like.”

            Draco nodded and glanced up just for a second, catching Harry’s eye briefly, before turning to look away. He wanted it, needed it even, but was still nervous about it. Harry made him feel safe, as if Harry would know the moment it was too much and stop. With Harry, he didn’t have to do anything; they only were doing it because he wanted it and that was a welcome, yet foreign, feeling.

Harry laid Draco back on the bed, pulling at pajamas, hands running along skin, careful to note reaction. He got his first proper look at Draco’s body since Sev’s birth then. He liked what he saw, the slender hips and fit body turning him on. He hadn’t minded the wide hips that came with pregnancy, but he found the hips of a man extremely erotic underneath him. Draco still had the small breasts, but his hips were all man, back to the way they’d been in school.

            “Do you want my hands _on_ you or my fingers _in_ you?” Harry asked gently, trying to discern which set or sexual organs Draco wanted him to touch. Last time it had been the female set, but he didn’t want to assume and make Draco think there was only one option when it came to sexual pleasure.

            Draco groaned at that, spreading his legs in the missionary position, silently indicating his answer.

            Harry noticed then that Draco’s cock wasn’t hard. “Can I touch it too?” he asked, indicating the flaccid cock.

            “Why?”

            “To make you hard; it’ll make it feel better.”

            “I don’t know if I can get hard.”

            “From what I read, there is no reason you can’t,” Harry replied and Draco shrugged. “So can I touch it?” Draco nodded.

            Harry reached out and took the soft member in his hand. It was his first time touching another man’s penis, but he’d fantasized about it loads of times and watched enough gay porn with Ginny that he was prepared. It took about a dozen strokes, but then Draco was hard and Harry was staring at a large, veined, delicious looking cock with a bulbous head. The shaft was a little bigger than the dildo Harry and Ginny had used to spice up their sex life.

They’d gotten to the point where Ginny either gave Harry a good arse pounding with her strap-on first, or he put in the dildo during; otherwise he hadn’t been able to maintain his erection long enough to cum; their relationship had become that old, making it dry and monotonous. He had the distinct impression that that wouldn’t be a problem with Draco.

            Harry stroked Draco’s cock, thinking about how good it would feel to have it in his arse. The head was shaped like a large mushroom, sticking out about an inch over the shaft, perfectly proportioned to produce an excellent rimming. Harry would’ve reached out with his tongue and licked the gorgeous cock right then and there, but he didn’t know how Draco would react to that. Instead he dipped his thumb into the pre-cum dripping out of the slit and used it to glide along the underside of the head, back and forth along the sensitive frenulum.

            Draco was moaning and groaning in response to Harry’s ministrations, but the attention to his cock just made his pussy ache all the more. He soon took to squirming and wiggling on the bed, arching his back to try to get some much needed friction down there.

            “Do you want my finger in you?” Harry asked and received a sexy groan from Draco in response that went straight to his dick.

            Draco’s legs were together, in the down position, so that they were blocking his opening. Harry gently inserted his hand between Draco’s thighs, guiding them open. “Are you sure?” Harry asked, waiting for permission, which he got in the form of a nod, before plunging two fingers inside of Draco, while continuing to stroke Draco’s cock with his other hand.

            The response from Draco was instantaneous, his limbs flailing wildly, his eyes rolled back in his head, his back arching up off of the bed, and his scream reverberating off of the attic walls.

            “Is that good?” Harry asked, pausing in his movement with his fingers, but not his hand on Draco’s cock.

            Draco nodded. Harry’s fingers began to move again, creating an unbelievable amount of pleasure between Draco’s legs. Overwhelmed, he instinctually began to bare down on the fingers, pushing them out. If there was one thing his vagina was good at doing, it was bearing down, being a requirement to force a newborn out. He almost forced Harry’s fingers completely out, before Harry realized what was happening and pushed back in, following a path amongst the compacted folds, until he reached the nub at the back. Harry explored the surface of the nub, including the dip in the center.

            “When I fuck you, does my penis touch back here?” Harry asked, sliding his finger in as deep as it would go, into the crevice between the cervix and the rear of the vaginal walls. He was curious about just what it was his doppelganger did with his boyfriend.

            Draco nodded. “Does it feel good when my penis is inside you?” Harry asked another. Draco nodded, again. “Do you want me to fuck you with my fingers? I could make you feel every bit as good.”

            “Yesss,” Draco hissed through his teeth.

            Harry decided then to take advantage of the moment and instructed, “Keep bearing down; my fingers aren’t as long as my cock.”

            Draco moaned in response, so Harry started. He moved his two fingers in as deep, before pulling them out, along the cervix, all the while pushing down into the fleshy structure. Draco’s legs clamped shut around Harry’s hand in response and he instantly stopped bearing down, pulling his cervix out of Harry’s fingering range. But then Draco recovered, opened his legs, and bore down again. Harry repeated the move, causing Draco’s chest to heave and a delicious sound to leave Draco’s mouth, but Draco maintained the position. Harry repeated the move a few more times, before beginning to rotate around the cervix, stroking it from every direction.

            Draco’s heart was pounding in his heaving chest, his cock throbbing in Harry’s hand, and his cervix twitching under Harry’s fingers. It felt wonderful, but too much at the same time.

            “Where do you want my fingers?” Harry asked, pulling back and pushing into where he thought Draco’s G-spot to be located.

            Draco’s legs went flailing, indicating that Harry had thought right and squeezing Harry momentarily, but then letting go and falling limp on the bed, his knees bent. His hands had been fisted into the sheets, but at Harry’s question he extricated one hand and moved it down to Harry’s. He’d never done anything like this before, but he placed his hand around Harry’s and nudged Harry’s fingers into position above that sensitive spot again.

            Harry took the cue and began to really go at that spot, pushing in as much as he could while dragging his fingers along the walls. There was a small bump there, which he scrapped with his fingernail, causing Draco to jump. Harry repeated the movement, while moving his thumb along Draco’s frenulum, and caused Draco to start cumming, from both pussy and cock simultaneously. Draco’s vaginal walls were clamping down in violent spasms and white cum was spewing forth from his cock, his ballocks clenching in the process.

            It was the most intense orgasm Draco had ever experienced and it seemed to go on forever as Harry kept stroking and fingering him through it. When it finally ended, he couldn’t take anymore stimulation and pushed Harry’s hands away, while pulling his groin back out of reach. Harry’s bed was large, so Draco had plenty of room to retreat, curling up into a ball to sleep sated for once. Harry lay down spooning Draco, falling asleep with his boyfriend and father of his children.

            They slept together into the morning hours when Draco woke up to give Sev the next feeding. Harry was pleasantly surprised when he woke up the next morning and realized that Draco was already up and acting normally. There was an exchange of shy smiles, but no freak out, indicating that Draco was making progress when it came to opening himself up to intimacy. Harry now had hope that with time, Draco might actually be able to enjoy a normal sex life; hopefully with him.

            Half the morning passed before Harry got a moment alone with Draco, without an aware child in the room; Carina and Severus were in the room, but she was sleeping and he was too little to understand.

            “Draco, there’s something I need to say about last night,” Harry said. Draco startled in shock and began to worry that he’d done something wrong, as if he were a small child about to be scolded by a parent. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pressure you into an abortion. I wasn’t thinking clearly and was frustrated. If you are pregnant again, it’s entirely your decision whether or not to keep it. Whatever you decide, I will support you. I will love any child you choose to give me.”

            Draco ducked his head and said, “Thank you,” before leaving the room to tend to their other children, effectively ending the conversation.

            They waited two weeks before Draco performed the spell on himself to determine whether he was pregnant or not. A positive result was a definite indicator of pregnancy, but a negative result was inconclusive this early on in a pregnancy. Testing too soon was the reason the Aurors and medi-witch at the Ministry had missed Draco’s pregnancy with Cael.

            “Now you know that even if it’s negative this first time, I might still be pregnant? It was negative at two weeks with Cyg,” Draco said, making sure that Harry didn’t get his hopes up.

            “Yes, I know. If it’s negative we get to keep right on waiting,” Harry replied. Personally he thought a negative result was a good indicator that there wasn’t a pregnancy, because in only one out of Draco’s nine pregnancies had the test ever come back negative two weeks in; Draco had been pregnant less than that every time he had a false-negative test with Cael.

            Draco nodded and cast the spell. It was indeed negative. And so they waited another week and cast it again to another negative result. Draco was still only cautiously optimistic that he wasn’t pregnant, but Harry was certain that there wouldn’t be a tenth Malfoy child. Harry was proven correct the following week, when the third spell came back negative too.

            And so Baby Sev would be their youngest child. In time Draco would stop breast feeding and his body would go back to normal. He was unsure what he thought of that, having been in his present state so long that the idea of changing back scared him. But he’d pass that hurdle when he got there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think?  
> There aren’t many chapters left now. Up next will be Christmas and Lucius’ homecoming. If you were Lucius, what would be the first thing you do after being in Azkaban for 8 years? Please Review!


	25. Chapter25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My laptop hinge busted off, but I clamped it back onto my screen so that I could bring you this chapter. I had to order a whole new top casing and it will have to go into the shop in about a week. Her name is Darwin and I’m very attached, so please send her well wishes. I do so hope she gets better, before she gets worse.

            With the upcoming Christmas season came worries over how they were going to compete with last year’s gift. After getting bikes, beds, new wardrobes, and a playground last year, Harry would either have to break the bank or think outside the box to compete. With ten children to think about and Hogwarts less than three years away for Scorp and Teddy, an inexpensive yet priceless gift was the only way to go.

            Lucius’ release had been in the works for months now with Harry spear-heading the campaign. Harry had given interviews in the paper on the subject, insisting that it was time for Lucius to come home. He’d said everything Lucius’ attorney had advised him too. Meanwhile a petition for a reduced sentence was submitted to the court along with documents testifying in his favor; from mind healers testifying that Lucius was remorseful and no longer a danger to society, to victims who testified that Lucius had been the lone Death Eater trying to hold the others back, to pleas from Harry and the Malfoy family asking for their beloved to return. It was all in order and being processed by the Wizengamot.

           Luckily it only took posing for a few dozen photos and giving out an equal number of autographs to get the impending release date moved up. Harry insisted he needed his father-in-law back for the holidays, so Lucius’ release was moved to the last day, a Thursday, before the Ministry’s scheduled holiday. The children were only too happy to have their grandfather back in lieu of presents; there were still the typical presents consisting of toys and clothes, just not anything grand. Draco and Narcissa were even more pleased with the gift.

            The first day of Lucius’ release, he insisted on a family outing to the quarry. He hugged everyone profusely, even Harry, ate a morning feast, and spent hours bathing the stink of Azkaban off and brushing out his long hair, but was driving the whole family out into the muck by the afternoon. Being December, it was freezing cold, which was why Narcissa was allowed to stay behind with baby Sev and everyone else was bundled up in their warmest cloaks complete with warming charms. The quarry was down by the pond on the far side of the grounds, so Harry had never had occasion to go down that way and now walking in the chilly air, found the distance to be far greater than he’d previously realized.

            Harry went with them, partly because due to curiosity and partly because on suspicions. Not that Lucius had given Harry reason to be suspicious, besides the fact that he was insisting on going down to the limits of the house arrest boundaries only hours after being released. He’d had to swear an unbreakable vow to stay within the confines of Malfoy Manor and not to engage in any criminal activities, a number of which were specifically listed, so if he did try to escape, he’d die. But still, Harry found it rather unbelievable that he wanted to take the family out to harvest clay from the quarry in this weather before he’d even fully settled in.

            Clay wasn’t valuable enough for the Ministry to have bothered seizing the quarry after the war, especially given the amount of effort it took to harvest it. They took the clay that had already been harvested and was ready to go, but left the quarry untouched. Everything was exactly the way Lucius had left it, so no time was wasted as he set everyone to work. A warming charm was cast over the area he wanted to harvest from and shovels and buckets were conjured and handed out to the children. Lucius personally broke off a chunk of mud for Carina, allowing her to sit on her bum and play with it, but all of the other children along with Harry and Draco were put to work. Even little Aries got into the spirit, running back and forth happily with a clump of mud in his hands.

            Harry had never seen clay harvested before and after seeing the process, he could certainly understand why the Ministry hadn’t bothered. It wasn’t so much as the clay was in the ground ready to go, as it was clay was purified out from the mud. Once they managed to fill a conjured wheelbarrow full of mud, Lucius showed the children how to process it using water, conjured glass jugs, and magic. The mud was mixed with water and allowed to settle. The impurities were heavier, so with the magical addition of a strong gravitational force field, they settled to the bottom. The purified clay was then poured off and allowed to settle in another jug. The clay was settled a second time to remove the excess water, before being put on a screen made from an old worn out shirt, to allow the remaining water to filter out.

            A few hours later, the children were covered in mud and Lucius had several pounds of clay. The kids seemed to enjoy the outing with no qualms about how dirty they’d gotten. Harry and Narcissa were slightly perturbed by the mess they were tasked with cleaning off of the children, Lyra’ messy hair in particular having become saturated with the clay filled mud. Draco, being a Malfoy and having been tasked with collecting mud and making clay for his father before, simply shrugged when his mother and boyfriend complained.

            Lucius, for his part, returned to the loo for several additional hours, delaying dinner. Harry thought it must be a new record in the bath, although it didn’t disturb anyone, due to the large number of bathrooms in Malfoy Manor. If Lucius’ grooming habits were anything to go by, it was no wonder there were as many bathrooms as rooms in the house. Caring for all that long thin hair alone looked like it took hours, especially with the way it kept turning a bit more pale-grey with every hour, as opposed to the silky greasy grey of Azkaban.

            Wearing a dinner jacket over robes with sort of a poufy exaggerated tie around the neck, Lucius came out dressed as if they were going somewhere fancy to eat, when they were just to be eating in the dining room. Draco, Narcissa, and the children dressed in their finest clothes for the occasion, even breaking out new dresses for the girls and dress robes for the boys; Scorp especially needed a new set, since he’d put on too much weight to squeeze into his old set and he was the biggest, so there were no hand-me-downs to pass on to him. And well, it was a momentous occasion, so Harry played along and dressed up too.

            There was a large feast that night, the second one of the day, and the three elves seemed to be battling for who could make the most outrageously elaborate dish in honor of Lucius’ return. The older children looked just as skeptical about the meal as Harry did, but Draco insisted that they all try the food and half of it proved edible. The younger children had already eaten a plain meal of spaghetti at the normal dinner time, since dinner was served so late. Carina was already too sleepy to eat, but Aries and Cassy came back to the table for dessert and didn’t have any complaints about the extravagance of it.

            That night Lucius retired early with Narcissa to the master bedroom. Harry cast a few silencing charms at the ceiling of the second floor and the floor of the fourth, just in case the two elder Malfoys were doing what he thought they were doing. Although, he never did hear a thing, not even the creaking of footsteps on ancient floorboards, which probably meant that they’d cast silencing charms of their own.

            The second day of Lucius’ freedom, he asked Draco, “When was the last time platinum was harvested?”

            Harry looked to Draco accusingly, thinking that the Malfoy family had been sitting on a platinum mine. Maybe all those witches and wizards who insisted that the Malfoys must have a hidden stash of something somewhere were right.

            Draco returned Harry’s look, shaking his head to deny it, before answering his father. “It hasn’t been. It’s not safe,” Draco replied, placing a hand over his now flat belly, to indicate just why it wasn’t safe for him; he’d been pregnant or breast feeding the entire time.

            “Oh of course; you mustn’t fiddle with alchemy while breast feeding, I forgot. And your mother isn’t a Malfoy by blood, so she couldn’t possibly do it,” Lucius replied.

            After all Harry had been through with Draco, he couldn’t possibly believe that Draco and Narcissa had been sitting on a platinum mine all this time when the children had been in need. Thus he continued to look at Draco in disbelief, before whisking his boyfriend away to the other room for a private chat. “What’s going on, Draco? You have a platinum mine I don’t know about?”

            “It’s not what you think, Harry. There’s not any actual platinum in the ore; it’s molybdenum. Father is an alchemist. He makes the platinum from the molybdenum,” Draco answered.

            “Molybdenum?” Harry still didn’t know what Draco was talking about.

            “It’s found in minerals in the catacombs under our feet. It’s half of a platinum atom, so when two atoms are joined in alchemy, it creates platinum. But the process is dangerous and toxic; I couldn’t possibly do it while pregnant or breast feeding. And I only had a few summers of apprenticeship in the process, so I’m not even qualified.” Draco’s voice was pleading for Harry to understand and not to blame him for not being able to fill his father’s shoes. He wasn’t an alchemist and didn’t have the luxury to learn to be one when he had children to consider.

            “He puts atoms together to create larger atoms?” Harry asked, awe in his voice as he caught on. Draco nodded. “As in nuclear fusion? That’s dangerous. He could have blown up all of Britain!”

            “No, he knows what he’s doing. He apprenticed with his father, Grandfather Abraxas.”

            “No, I don’t mean on accident. He could’ve made fusion bombs. Here he was playing around with bombardment charms on the muggles when he could’ve done real damage.”

            “But he’s an alchemist!”

            “And?” Harry asked confused, not understanding the significance.

            “He would never; no alchemist would. It’s considered sacrosanct to use alchemy for a purpose other than creation,” Draco explained.

            “I doubt Voldemort would mind.”

            “The Dark Lord didn’t understand my father’s work; he wasn’t an alchemist and I do not think my father ever cared to inform him.”

            Harry thought that was rather unbelievable, but when he asked Lucius, the wizard confirmed Draco’s story: Lucius had never bothered to inform his Lord that he knew a potentially highly explosive craft, because he considered using alchemy in a destructive way as blasphemy and as a degradation of hundreds of generations of alchemists in the Malfoy family. As far as Voldemort ever knew, alchemy was the simple creation of more valuable material from the less valuable soil already present; he had no idea of the large amount of energy released in the process. Thank goodness Haden Malfoy started a moral code almost a thousand years ago that has been passed on in an unbroken chain all of this time.

            Harvesting molybdenum from the catacombs under Malfoy Manor was a more difficult task than harvesting mud for clay, so Lucius only took Draco and the oldest three children with him. Harry asked to go with, but Lucius and Draco declined, citing the catacombs as being reserved exclusively for those of Malfoy blood, since long dead Malfoy ancestors had placed a strong and binding blood curse on the place. It was a little unnerving to watch a convicted Death Eater descend under the Manor with three of his children and the father of said children, but Draco asked Harry to trust them and so he did.

            The group of Malfoys came back with buckets filled with mineral ore, which Lucius took out into the middle of a freshly made clearing in the forest to work with. None of the children were deemed old enough to begin apprenticing with him, which they were all disappointed about, but at least he did consent to let Harry watch; Harry insisted on the concession, given his nerves regarding the idea of Lucius out in the middle of the forest practicing nuclear fusion unsupervised. Even though they were far from the house, they were still close enough to cause damage if a nuclear reaction got out of hand. The fact that the Manor was still standing after being home to generations of alchemists for hundreds of years was a testament to the skill possessed.

            Harry watched in awe as Lucius purified the molybdenum and then fused the particles together to create the glowing hot molten metal. The excess heat and energy were slowly released back into the Earth and dissipated. The molten metal was poured into the molds made out of the clay the day before. There the metal cooled into the desired form.

            _That explains why he wanted the clay_ , Harry thought to himself as he watched.

            It also explained why Lucius’ lawyers had been so insistent that giving him his wand back was a moot point; he was casting the dangerous alchemy spells with wandless magic. If he couldn’t be stopped from performing the most potentially dangerous of the spells he knew, then there was little point in preventing him from performing the simpler spells. Either way, they were trusting him not to break the unbreakable vow to behave and only use his magic for good.

            Christmas came that Monday, only five days after having Lucius returned to them. This time Andy and Teddy slept over at Malfoy Manor, so that they could be there first thing in the morning to open gifts. Harry had insisted that this year each of his children would have a pile of gifts equal to Teddy’s pile, which meant that Teddy’s pile of gifts was smaller than in previous years. Thankfully, Teddy said he didn’t mind, because he got to have brothers and sisters to play with instead of boring toys. He was a good kid and didn’t even notice that half of his clothing was now being purchased second-hand.

            Each child’s pile contained a bag of new used clothes along with three sets of brand-new outfits, socks, knickers, and shoes, and a few toys and books. The older Malfoy children were all still unused to getting so many gifts and very excited about what they got. Cassy was so little that she couldn’t remember what it was like and thus complained about not getting a broom. Aries was easily excitable, period, and ran screeching across the room with each gift as he opened them. Carina, on the other hand, was most interested in the boxes and wrappings.

            The only tense moment of the day came when the Weasleys arrived on the front porch bearing their gifts; it was only Molly, Arthur, Ron, and Hermione, but the addition of the four was still enough to stir things up. Harry could see Arthur and Ron eyeing Lucius, Lucius eyeing Arthur in return, and worried that a fight was about to break out. But when Lucius reached the Weasley patriarch, he simply grasped Arthur’s hand in his, looked Arthur in the eye, and apologized for everything he did as a Death Eater and especially for giving Ginny that diary. Arthur, being the congenial fellow he is, forgave Lucius and clapped him on the shoulder. Later Harry heard Arthur and Ron whispering about keeping their eye on Lucius, but Arthur was clearly telling Ron to give the wizard a chance.

            That conversation was broken up by the handing out of more gifts. Earlier it had been just the children opening their piles from Andy, Harry, and Draco. Now there were presents from the children to the adults and from the other adults to the children. The majority of these gifts were handmade, as was custom due to the necessity of having little money, in the Malfoy family. It was custom for Molly too, with her beloved sweaters and delicious pastries, so she fit right in.

            Narcissa and the children had been allowed to use the left over clay to make gifts. Narcissa’s creations were all for the children and were little boxes to store precious trinkets, each glazed with the child’s name. The children in turn made their gifts for the adults. Most of their handmade gifts consisted of lopsided lumpy little pinch-pots glazed with childish skill. Brax, Cyg, and Cassy were among the best at forming the clay structures, while Lyra, Cassy, and Aries were the best glazers. Overall Cassy’s pieces were the best and included a small vase for Narcissa, a pot for Lucius, a jar for Draco, and a coffee mug for Harry; Narcissa later admitted that she had indeed helped with fitting lids and handles to the children’s pieces when required. There were even little coiled vases for Andy, Hermione, and Molly and ill formed mugs for Ron and Arthur. Harry’s mug was the best of the bunch and was painted with the phrase, “I ♥ U Dɒddy;” he planned on taking it to work to set on his desk for everyone to see.

            There were also the typical handmade ornaments to go around, which Narcissa guided the children in making every year. Draco gave out his usual hand-made preserves; knowing that there were more people in their lives this year, he’d upped his berry production and had a jar for everyone; Andy, Molly, Hermione, Ron, Arthur, his parents, Harry, and even a jar which was to be sent to Ginny, who didn’t come. Molly handed out her homemade sweaters, unique patterns of stripes in replacement of initials, since four of the Malfoy children shared the initial C, two shared A, and another two shared S. Molly had homemade treats for everyone too, consisting of a large platter of individual sized pies and another of biscuits. Overall it made for a joyous holiday and a room full of happy children.

            It wasn’t until Christmas evening, after the Weasleys left, when the final result of Lucius’ hard work were revealed: a set of beautiful silvery-white metal bands, each one engraved with one of their names.

            “Sorry, this was the best I could do on such a short timeframe,” Lucius said, slipping one of the platinum bands onto his wife’s wrist, before kissing said wrist delicately.

            “Oh Lucius; it’s wonderful. It’s just like the first one you made me when we were first dating,” Narcissa replied, flinging her arms around her husband affectionately.

            There were bands for everyone; each of the children, including Teddy, Andy, Draco, and even Harry.

            Harry looked at his with trepidation as he put on the gift from his former enemy. It was one solid, circular band and unlike the other bracelets that were intricately carved, his only contained his first name. He thought for a moment that the lack of additional carvings was a slight, because even the tiny band forged for baby Severus contained the serpent of the Malfoy crest slithering along it. The other children, including Draco, had carving of the astrological signs that corresponded to their names, while Narcissa’s band was covered in the flowers for which she was named. In comparison, Harry’s band was rather drab and plain. But then Harry decided that a carved platinum bracelet was rather girly and it was bad enough he had one at all; at least a plain one was relatively masculine, although he still couldn’t imagine actually wearing such a thing.

            Harry considered what Lucius did the next day a far better present than the bracelet. Lucius came to him with a bar of the leftover platinum and asked Harry to trade it to a wizard he knew for the supplies he’d need to once again practice his chosen craft of fine jewelry making. There was only so much that he could make with clay and platinum, with a long list of necessities needed to produce finer and more intricate pieces. On the list was everything from sturdy prongs for working with molten metal to delicate tweezers for manipulating small pieces, to molds for pouring the mechanical workings of pocket watches, to a press for making man-made gems to accentuate his pieces. He’d had it all before, but had lost it when the Ministry confiscated all of his possessions for sale to rebuild after the war. And this one metal brick which was only part of a batch that had taken Lucius a mere day to transform from molybdenum, would pay for the wizard to have it all back. Lucius himself wasn’t allowed to leave the grounds and it was too costly and delicate a trade to trust to owls or elves, which was why Lucius asked Harry to handle it.

            What Harry considered the gift were the words that Lucius said to him after asking him to conduct the trade. “I plan on earning my keep and supporting my family,” Lucius said. “Draco has done a marvelous job tracking down our old furniture and I aim to make enough money in the next three months to purchase it all back.”

            It was a relief to Harry, who had been worried about having yet another mouth to feed when Draco was already breaking his back tending to the huge field of crops mostly by himself. Harry had his wages as an Auror to support them, but that didn’t go far, since it had to be split between nine children, one godson, a boyfriend, and a mother-in-law. Just keeping them all in clothes, supplementing their dinner table with normal meats, and paying Draco the child support he’d promised ate away his entire paycheck. It was a relief to know that instead of having one more mouth to feed and one more pair of begging hands held out for him to support, he had one more working adult who would soon be pulling in additional earnings.

            When Harry continued to stare off in stunned silence, Lucius added, “Don’t worry, I still plan on helping Draco and Narcissa with my grandchildren during workdays. I’ll practice my craft after dinner and on weekends when you will be off from work and available to help. I fully intend to spend as much time with my grandchildren as possible and make up for all the time I have missed.”

            Those words were a comfort too. Merlin knew Draco and Narcissa were overworked and could use the help. It was hard to believe that life could seem so much better with the return of one Death Eater to his family, but that was exactly what happened. Harry began to realize just what a shame it was that the most able bodied of the Malfoys had been incarcerated just when they needed him the most. With Lucius’ skills in alchemy and fine jewelry making he’d been pulling down enough before the war to support a family of twelve easily, but he was unable to lift so much as a finger to contribute to their finances while locked up in Azkaban. How many more families were similarly devastated by the loss of their bread winners? The war had evidentially done even more damage than Harry had initially realized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time around, you readers made huge contributions to this chapter. Almost all of it was inspired by one review or another and I never would’ve thought about all of the things Lucius would want to do on my own; he’s had eight years to think of it, while I’ve only had a few month. Thank you all.
> 
> There’s just an epilogue next and that’s it. If you have any last requests, speak now or forever hold your peace…


	26. Chapter26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in getting this out. I’ve been sick all month with ear infections (4 so far) and once the antibiotic left my system, it came back with a vengeance. I wasn’t pleased at all with my rough draft of this chapter and not feeling well enough to be able to fix it, so I waited.
> 
> This is the uncensored version of this story. If you are under the age of 18 or do not wish to read the lemon, please read the version of this chapter posted on fanfiction.

            The wedding was an elegant, yet private affair. Only Harry and Draco’s closest friends and family were invited, in an attempt to limit the guest list as much as possible. Head Auror Bourke Covington wasn’t on the list, nor were the dozens of politically influential witches and wizards he’d recommended that Harry invite. Covington was thinking about retiring in the next decade, which meant he was trying to groom Harry as his replacement. For the most part Harry did the things required of him at work, but when it came to his family, he refused to get them involved. Thus his boss was forced to make the political connections without him and find ways to promote him based solely on merit.

            The wedding was therefore a small, intimate gathering. In attendance were only their ten, counting Teddy, children, Draco’s parents and aunt, eight Weasleys adults, four Goyles, four Notts, and sixteen Weasleys. Lucius walked Draco down the aisle and all of the Malfoy children were in the wedding. Teddy, Cael, and Cyg served as Harry’s groom’s men, while Scorp and Brax were Draco’s. Lyra and Cary were flower girls, and Sev was the ring bearer. Cassy sang and Ries was the piano player, the two of them providing all of the night’s music.

            Ron, Harry’s best friend, was too busy controlling his first born in the audience next to a heavily pregnant Hermione to serve as best man. Harry preferred things the way they were, with his children standing up for him. Cyg was technically a Malfoy and should’ve been on Draco’s side, but Harry wanted to make him feel special, so he was on Harry’s side.

            Cael was officially a Potter now. The papers made a bit of a fuss about the coincidence of the name change coming so soon after Harry arranged for Lucius’ sentence to be commuted to house arrest. Luckily their lawyers had done everything on the up and up and no link could be discovered between the two events. Harry told Luna that it was simply the result of Cael asking his grandfather for a name change and Lucius granting it out of the goodness of his heart. Luna told her father, who printed it in the Quibbler, and the story was soon dropped.

            Teddy and Scorp, being eleven, were home from their first year of Hogwarts for the Easter break. Teddy was a Gryffindor and Scorp was a Slytherin, but they were still the best of friends. They spent as much time as possible together at school and when they were home, they were virtually inseparable, alternating together between Andy’s house and the Manor. The pair shared Teddy’s room at Andy’s house and had long since been moved into the spare office on the third floor of the Manor. It was far smaller than the Manor’s regular generously sized bedrooms, but they didn’t mind. They had undetectable extension charms enlarging the closet, shelves, and drawers, along with a bunk-bed maximizing their limited space.

            Brax now shared a room with Cael, Ries was with Cyg, Lyra was still with Cassy, and Cary split the old nursery room with Sev. They had literally erected a temporary wall to split the nursery in two, so that their three year old boy wouldn’t be sharing a room with their four year old girl, not that Sev and Cary seemed to mind each other; it was because of the fact that they were growing up and the adults worried about the future impropriety. Lucius and Narcissa still shared the master bedroom on the third floor, while Draco had moved into Harry’s attic studio. Thus there was room for all at the Manor, with the other office taken back over by Lucius’ jewelry making.

            Having honored the terms of his house arrest to the letter, Lucius was considered a model prisoner. The Wizengamot had him on track for parole in another two years if he kept up the way he was going. Parole would mean more freedoms, including the ability to leave the Manor grounds. The ability to leave would make running his jewelry business easier, but he had managed it just fine by hiring the older children to be his assistants with buying supplies and delivering finished goods.

            Lucius had spent the last three years fulfilling every promise he made behind bars. He spent five hours each weekday as Narcissa’s teaching assistant, being needed now as much as ever, since she had six years of students in her classroom; Malfoy, Potter, and Weasley children. He spent an additional four hours out in the field, helping Draco with the crops. And all of that only to spend two hours in his office working on his craft. Weekends were the opposite, with most of his time spent on alchemy and jewelry making, with only the evenings spent with the children. He always saved his excursions to the quarry and the catacombs for weekends and for that he took the children with him. Teddy, Scorp, and Cael had all even been allowed to watch him perform alchemy in the forest.

            With all that time spent working, it was no wonder Lucius had made so much money so quickly. He’d restored the Manor to its former glory, having purchased back a large portion of the furniture that had been sold off. They didn’t have room for it all at the moment, because the bedrooms were filled with the children’s things and the drawing room was still a playroom, but they had squeezed the furniture in where it could fit, replacing duplicated items where possible. What couldn’t fit they packed off to Grimmauld Place. One day, after the children grow up and start moving out of the house, the remaining furniture would once again find a home in Malfoy Manor.

            With the Manor back up to the Malfoy’s exacting standards, Lucius was free to put all of his unneeded earnings into the various trust funds he was setting up for the children. Teddy has his inheritance from his parents, Scorp would be the heir to the title of Lord Malfoy and get the house, Cael was Harry’s heir and would get Grimmauld Place, but that still left seven Malfoy children who Lucius was responsible for setting up in this world. Thus he had set up trust funds and was determined to work as hard as he possibly could to fill them.

            As for Draco, he had been sleeping in Harry’s bed with him since Sev turned two and the nursery was divided up for the toddlers. Given Draco’s history and the fact that they already had a Manor full of shared children, they decided to forgo social norms about waiting until marriage to share a bed. Instead Harry welcomed Draco into his bed the moment Draco was emotionally ready for it. Sexual acts too were not held off until marriage, although they had yet to go all the way.

            Up until now, it had been about making each other feel good and Draco getting used to being touched and touching Harry; they talked more openly about their feelings too, finally comfortable enough to open up with one another. They had beaten around the bush that first year of their relationship, neither quite ready to discuss sex and Harry waiting for Draco to initiate each sexual encounter. That second year though, Draco began to really open up and increased the frequency of said encounters. Then this last year, they had become so comfortable with each other it was like Draco had never been abused. Thus they had decided it was finally time to tie the knot and make it official.

            It was their second year of being a couple when they sat down and discussed what they each wanted in the bedroom. Draco wanted what he was used to with the phantom, which was vaginal penetration. That was fine with Harry, but he also wanted anal penetration, desiring to bottom. Draco couldn’t quite fathom why Harry wanted it and was wary of the idea at first, but had since gotten used to it. They had agreed that come their wedding night, they would start with Draco’s, but would work up to Harry’s.

            Severus was no longer nursing, which meant that Draco could stop pumping breast milk and allow his body to revert to normal any time he wanted. The only thing was that he wasn’t yet ready to do so. He had been this way so long that he was nervous about the idea of turning back. For one thing, he sort of liked the vagina and wanted to have the experience of actual vaginal sex, not rape or phantom sex, before having that option lost to him forever. For another, he couldn’t imagine enjoying a penis in his arse or how Harry could enjoy it either. And with their gay relationship, he worried about potentially having to be entered anally, despite Harry’s assurances otherwise. Harry, for his part, didn’t mind the idea that he would be the exclusive bottom after Draco’s change. On the other hand, he didn’t want to push Draco into changing back before Draco was ready; he wanted to leave that decision up to Draco.

            “Come on, up to bed with you. The children will be fine,” Harry encouraged. They had just spent half an hour saying farewell to everyone for the night. Being their wedding night, Narcissa and Lucius had agree to watch the children and put them to bed. Thus they were free to share a more intimate moment up in their room, but Draco was dragging on the final staircase, looking down in the direction of the children.

            “But we must remember to schedule Cyg for an appointment to get a new pair of glasses. Those ones are so mangled they can’t be repaired properly any longer. And my father threatened that if he sees Cyg like that again, he’s going to take the lenses out and set them in a pair he makes himself,” Draco said. It was left unsaid that if Lucius made them, they would be platinum and look pretentious.

            In Kindergarten Cyg’s eyes had begun to go the way of Cael’s. Their middle son now had to wear glasses to read, but he wasn’t at all careful with them. Earlier that day he’d once again left them in his back pocket and sat on them. During the reception the children had each read prepared speeches for their parents. Scorp had gotten up there and read a speech about how he knew all along that his parents were meant to be. Even Sev, being held up and helped by Lucius had said, “I love my daddy and father.” It was all very touching and moving. But, there was a holdup when it came to Cyg’s turn, because he’d pulled out his mangled glasses and couldn’t read his speech properly. Hermione had set her best repairo on them, but they’d been repaired one too many times and maintain the wonky shape. In the end Cael had come to the rescue by loaning Cyg his glasses.

            Sev too now wore glasses, with his eyes being the weakest in the family. When Little Sev learned to walk, he started walking into walls, drawers, cabinets, toys, et cetera. The kid seemed naturally clumsy until the healer pointed out that the problem was his eyes. At the age of one, he was already near sighted, just like Harry had been. While Brax and Cyg could make do without glasses, they were an absolute necessity to Sev and Harry. But since Sev needed them all the time, they were just charmed onto his nose every morning, so he went through fewer pairs than Cyg, despite his younger age.

            “Your mum will do it in the morning,” Harry reassured and Draco relented, following Harry up the last flight of stairs.

            The room wasn’t how they’d left it. The mess they’d left on the sitting room half of the attic was cleaned up; Harry still inhabited the desk and half the bookcase, but the rest of space was now taken with Draco’s things. The bed was made, the floor was picked up, there was a bucket of champagne on ice by the bedside, flowers strewn about the place, and even rose petals on the bed. Harry stepped into the room and lit the candles around the room. He let out a gasp of surprise as he took in the beauty of it.

            “Looks like the elves have been hard at work,” Draco said, coming from behind Harry to enter the room. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

            “Let me pour the champagne before we get started,” Harry suggested, going over to the bucket of ice.

            While Harry worked, Draco cast a contraceptive charm on himself, just in case. It wasn’t Halloween, so the broken curse wasn’t at its strongest and it was possible that the anti-ritual was strong enough that they wouldn’t be fertile ever again. But it was better to be extra cautious than risk another pregnancy, so they had agreed to use protection. Yesterday, Harry had taken an infertility potion that ought to last a month. Thus they were doubly covered.

            Harry soon had two glasses of champagne, which he brought over to Draco. He handed one over and said, “A toast, to the rest of our long and happy lives. May we spend it doting over our children and many future grandchildren and as madly in love as we are now.”

            Draco replied with a, “Here, here,” and they clinked their glasses together, before downing the small amount of bubbly liquid.

            Draco made the first move, wedging himself into Harry’s arms and pushing their lips together, initiating a passionate snog. The champagne glasses dropped carelessly to the floor, but didn’t break, thanks to a shatterproof charm. Harry’s eye glasses fogged up and were cast aside as well. And then they were frantically pulling off clothing, despite the exorbitant amount of money they’d paid for their wedding robes.

            “I love you so fucking much right now, Draco,” Harry said breathily, as Draco lay back on the bed, naked and fully exposed.

            “I love you too,” Draco replied, as Harry climbed on top of him.

            Draco turned onto his side, his body propped up on one elbow. Harry also turned on his side propped up by an elbow and facing Draco, but he had a leg draped over Draco’s body, so that their groins touched as they kissed. Their hands were all over each other. Draco’s were on Harry’s sides, chest, back, neck, and even his butt; much braver now than he’d been a few years before. Harry’s were on Draco’s nipples, waist, butt, and thighs. Harry’s hand slipped between Draco’s closed thighs, dipping into a pool of wet moister.

            Pulling away from the kiss just enough to speak, Harry said, “You’re wet.”

            Draco nodded and said, “I’ve been thinking about this all day.”

            “Are you ready?” Harry asked and Draco nodded again.

            And then Draco was opening his legs, repositioning them so that they were on either side of Harry and pulled up on either side of his chest, exposing himself. Harry let his hands explore Draco’s groin, cock, and ballocks. Hands drifting down, Harry pushed two fingers into the hot canal. Draco was even wetter on the inside; he moaned and threw his head back in pleasure as the fingers entered him. Harry pushed up into Draco’s g-spot, earning an even louder moan and a sharp intake of breath from Draco. Draco was just so responsive to his touch that it had Harry’s cock throbbing and his ballocks aching.

            Removing his fingers and positioning his cock at Draco’s entrance, Harry asked, “Do you want this?”

            Draco moaned out a breath, “Yes.” He wrapped his legs around Harry’s butt and pulled Harry closer.

            Harry entered Draco and the velvety feeling was so exquisite that he almost came right then. He held himself back, setting a slow and gentle pace, wanting to make this last. But he knew he couldn’t last long, not after waiting so long to finally share this intimacy with Draco. It was like their two bodies moved as one and they were connected more deeply than ever before. Wanting Draco to cum with him, he snaked a hand around from Draco’s waist to Draco’s cock, wanking the pulsating member.

            Draco was arching his back, tossing his head from side to side, and moaning about how incredibly full he felt. He’d never had something so _big_ inside him and it was driving him mad with pleasure as he tried to get the angle just right to hit his spot with Harry’s thrust. Then with Harry’s hand added to his cock the ecstasy was almost too much, but at the same time, it wasn’t quite enough. “Harder,” he moaned.

            Harry complied, snapping his hips back for the first time, his angle perfect as it hit Draco’s spot just right. With one more pump of Harry’s hand, Draco was cumming, from both pussy and cock and screaming out with the intensity of it; it was a good job the attic apartment had been spelled soundproof by Malfoys past. And then Harry was cumming too, filling Draco up with his useless seed.

            They cuddled together as they came down from their mutual orgasms. Being in their late twenties, they were no longer randy teenagers, but that night they acted like they were. They engaged in almost every sexual activity under the sun, including hours of oral and vaginal sex, but never anal. Harry managed five rounds, which was a record for him. And although Draco only came three times from his cock, he lost count of how many times he came vaginally and that was definitely a record for him.

            The start of their marriage ushered in a whole new period of happiness in their lives. It was no longer a time of recovery, of making up for lost time and healing from old wounds, but of growing old together and seeing the fruits of their hard labors mature. They had ten happy and healthy children and a large extended family to show for their efforts. They still had many years left to go before the children were out of the house and that was just the way they wanted it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s the end. I hope everyone enjoyed it! If you did, I’d love to hear from you and see that you’ve favorited it; it’s one of my favorites I’ve written so far.
> 
> I currently have no sequels to this one planned. I am, however, thinking of posting a short little blub about each child and how they turn out.
> 
> I’m working on a new story that I will probably begin posting soon. The only problem is I don’t have a name for it yet. Set in the months after the end of the war, Draco and Ginny are fighting over Harry. Ginny is the one Harry wanted and the socially acceptable choice, while Draco is the one he wants and a socially unacceptable choice. Draco has wormed his way into Harry’s home with the help of their son, Leo Malfoy (acting on Voldemort’s orders, Draco used dark magic during the war to impregnate himself with Harry’s child). It features a deliciously snarky and not always nice Draco, which I love. So far I’ve just been calling it Leo Malfoy to myself, but that doesn’t really capture the essence of the story. Does anyone have any ideas?


	27. Epilogue

            Caelum and Abraxas were sorted into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, respectively, while Lyra, Cassiopeia, Aries, and Carina went to Slytherin. Cygnus deliberately asked the sorting hat for Hufflepuff, to get away from all of his siblings. Severus finished the pack and went to Ravenclaw. The total stood thusly: five Slytherins, two Ravenclaws, one Hufflepuff, and one—two if you count Teddy—Gryffindor(s), making Draco the clear winner. Harry was content with counting the fact that he had managed to convert Cael a victory in itself. Draco was of the opinion that Cael didn’t count, because Cael had always been a reckless dare devil and was now an official Potter.

            Teddy eventually married Victoire Weasley, Bill and Fleur’s oldest daughter. He joined his father-in-law’s company as a curse-breaker, traveling around Britain to break curses, specializing in Voldemort area dark curses. He and his wife moved in with his grandmother Andy to care for her in her old age or if you look at it the other way around, so that Andy could babysit his four children.

            Scorp married Haesel Smith, Astoria Greengrass and Zacharias Smith’s daughter. He inherited Malfoy Manor and apprenticed with his grandfather Lucius to become an acclaimed alchemist. The couple produced one male heir, as dictated by Malfoy custom, and returned the Manor to its previous state of having too many rooms for too few people; not that he kicked his parents and grandparents out, living with all four of them until their eventual deaths of old age.

            Cael married Ursula Flint, Marcus Flint’s daughter. There was some upset over the pairing, given the fact that they were distantly related. But as third cousins it wasn’t illegal and as purebloods, everyone was related, so marrying your third cousin was actually somewhat normal. Eventually people forgot about it and were happy for the paring, especially when their two children came out looking pleasantly like their good looking father, instead of their plain mother. Cael inherited Grimmauld Place, but never stayed there, because his career as a dragon tamer kept him and his family up in the Scottish isles.

            Brax married Keldan Shacklebolt, Kingsley Shacklebolt’s son, and went into politics. He never ran for Minister of Magic, but supported his husband’s many successful runs. Rumors were that Brax basically ran the country, because Keldan did whatever he told Keldan to. Brax himself was a stay at home dad to his three children and never ran for any office higher than the Wizengamot, which he sat on for forty years before retiring. Their only daughter also went into politics and became the first Malfoy to be Minister of Magic. That would’ve made Lucius cringe, except that she took her husband’s name and preserved the Malfoy’s reputation of never being the front man, or in this case, woman.

            Lyra married Gaderian Goyle, Pansy and Greg’s son and became a pediatric healer. She had five children and was happy to occupy Grimmauld Place for her older brother, once more bringing life into the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. Given her focus on family, her medical career was somewhat lack luster and disappointed her supervisors, who knew she had so much more potential. Her fathers, however, were extremely proud of her and frequently bragged about their eldest daughter being a mid-level healer and an even better mother.

            Cyg married Dominique Weasley, Bill and Fleur’s middle child, and had a pair of rambunctious twins. He was incredibly well-rounded, charismatic, out-going, and had a flair for business. He was one of those people who was always changing, never settling, spending five years on a business venture with Fred II, then spending five years researching snails, before turning around and using the snail research to make better invisibility cloaks. Everything he did turned to gold, bringing him in a profit and making him an incredibly successful business man.

            Cassy married Fred Weasley II, George and Angelina’s son. She became a stay at home mother, happy to be seen posing on her husband’s arm and taking care of her seven children. She eventually took over her grandmother’s position as the family school teacher. Given the number of children in the family, multiple teachers were needed, which led her to create a private elementary school for wizards, which became very successful.

            Ries married Maponus Nott, Daphne and Theo’s son. They both became world famous musicians and toured all over the world. The only ones who weren’t happy for them were their two children, who were sick of moving around so much and spent more time with their grandparents at Malfoy Manor than any of the many, “homes,” their parents owned.

            Cary married Porrex Pucey, Adrian Pucey’s son, and had three children. They lived in the Lestrange Manor, since old Madam Lestrange had no heirs and chose to leave it to her. She apprenticed with her grandfather Lucius, becoming a fine jeweler. She was well known for her ability to talk to animals and thus used the symbol of her pet peacock on all of her creations, to mark her work. In her later years, she became known as the “bird lady,” to her neighbors, who were somewhat perturbed by the sheer number of peacocks and other birds she had living with her in the large Manor.

            Sev married a red-haired muggleborn named Susannah Davis, much to Draco’s shock and Harry’s amusement. When the next dark lord, an orphan name Fyren Munch, started rising up in an attempt to take over the wizarding world, it was a seventeen year old Sev who went after Fyren. Fyren had been in Ravenclaw with him, but a seventh year when Sev was a first year and so didn’t feel threatened by the dorky youngest Malfoy. Thus Sev was able to follow and easily capture Fyren with one of his newly invented spells. Sev was then marshaled into the Auror Corps and reluctantly groomed to one day take over his dad’s role as Head Auror, but quit in order to become a potions master. He and his wife had one red-haired greened eyed daughter who they named Lily, after his late grandmother and the woman his namesake had always loved.

            Lucius was rather disappointed in the percentage of Draco’s children who followed the ancestral Malfoy path of alchemy; not that Scorpius wasn’t a fine alchemist, but that only one out of eight Malfoys in the next generation learned the trade. Thus Lucius made it his last mission in life to groom all of his great grandchildren for future careers in alchemy. Lily Malfoy was his best pupil, although several of his other grandchildren also chose to follow in their great grandfather’s footsteps as alchemists.

            Harry became jealous of Lucius’ influence with his grandchildren and set out to turn as many of the children towards careers as Aurors as possible. Oddly enough Ries’ two children were the most eager to learn from him, since they were around the most. It was Ries’ daughter, his younger child, who eventually took over Harry’s post as Head Auror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s the absolute last of it. I’m sad to see it end, but I think it’s time for this family to live happily ever after. Please Review!
> 
> In other news, I’ve posted the first chapter of my new story Pulled in Two: Ginny versus Draco and Leo! In it Draco and Ginny fight over Harry for his time and attention. It gives me the perfect excuse to write a snarky troublemaking Draco paired against a bratty spoiled Ginny, and poor Harry is stuck in the middle. Best of all Draco has had Harry’s son and there’s Teddy in it too :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Harry Potter and the Malfoy Male Pregnancy Curse Cover](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6564796) by [Levinson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levinson/pseuds/Levinson)




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